Few bands have the legacy, continued insistence on
innovative impact, cultural mainstay potency, and the
staying power that the Flaming Lips have accrued
over their 40 plus years as a group. Given their status
in the cultural zeitgeist, it’s hard nigh-on-impossible
to believe it’s already been 6(!) years since the band's
last studio album (2020’s deftly executed American
Head).
Not a moment too soon comes a brand new album
from the psychedelic rock heroes, The Teardrop
Throbs.
Teardrop… finds the group issuing a stark reminder
to the public of what made them mandatory listening
for the better part of the last half century: lush
arrangements coupled with exquisite production
and songwriting that's been distilled over time and
has achieved fully optimized power. The band's
leader Wayne Coyne darts from poignant and direct
on “Every Teardrop Cried” to more melancholy and
somber notes on tracks like “The Trees Are Getting
Their Leaves”, painting with a brush and palette so
wide in breadth that they take generations to curate if
they ever come at all.
