Hear It Is

by

The Flaming Lips

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Timing is everything, and the Flaming Lips debut album is a perfect validation of that statement. The Lips self-released eponymous EP paved the way for their signing to indie label Restless in the mid-'80's, a time when bands like the Replacements and Sonic Youth were just making their dent in what was to become "alternative" rock. Back then, it was just "college rock," and the Lips couldn't have stumbled into a better category. Their indefinable sound was a melange of psychedelia and self-effacing acid rock, often gaining them the unfair categorization as such. This is one heck of a sloppy record, but sincerity oozes from every track. Their cartoonish weirdness, evident on tracks such as "Trains, Brains & Rain" and "Staring At Sound" is offset by the underlying lyrical seriousness of "She Is Death" and "Godzilla Flick," hinting at a darker underside to this over-the-top band. Beneath their wall of noise and screwball guitar antics, the Lips had something to say; they don't quite get it out on this record (they really don't until much later on "In A Priest Driven Ambulance"), but these are the first steps in the right direction. Well worth a listen.

After the Lips released an unimpressive EP in 1985, they made a very wise choice and let Wayne Coyne take over as lead vocalist, and let his drug-addict brother Mark step down. Their 1986 debut album, "Hear It Is", is nowhere near the hard rockin' trippiness of their later work, but still worth a listen. It's much darker than their follow-ups, especially on such songs as "Godzilla Flick" (a really sad song about Mark's near-fatal battle with drugs). There is slight signs of the Lips' trademark goofiness, in "Charlie Manson Blues" and "Trains, Brains And Rain".

Overall, nothing to warp your mind, but still worth getting, for historical reasons, and a must for any diehard Lips fan such as myself. And check out the album cover: gotta love Wayne's Julius Erving afro. He sure looks angry, too...