Album Review: The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics

First let me start off by mentioning that I've never been a big Flaming Lips fan, most likely because I haven't given one of their previous albums a full listen. Sure I've heard a Lips song here and there from different commercials and movie soundtracks, but I've never really embraced their sound. At War With The Mystics, should it be a window into the music and style of the Flaming Lips, really shows me what I've been missing.

"Free Radicals" the second track on the album, has an all too eerie sense of Prince. Say whaaaat? I always thought the Lips were just a psych-rock band.. boy was I wrong. Diversity is a quality many bands do not embrace, the Flaming Lips on the other hand do just that on this album, embracing many different styles from funk to electronica. Tracks like "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion" and especially "Vein of Stars" take you on a tranquil spacey trip, music you can get lost to. The album impresses me when it mixes between luscious soundscapes, electronic beats, funky guitar riffs, and some good ol' foot tappin music that just might make you want to get up and dance. From the outside looking in, I can't compare this with any of the other previous Flaming Lips releases, but this album alone had provoked me to dig deeper into their collection to find out what I've been missing all these years.

[MP3] Free Radicals
[MP3] Vein of Stars