The Flaming Lips – Embryonic (2009) [Warner Bros.] // Grade: B-

This is the review I knew I’d struggle to write for a band I’ve never liked. The Flaming Lips have been praised with every gilded phrase in the book. From “seminal” to “inventive”, it’s all just noise to my ears and I’ve always personally preferred to bestow the descriptor “overrated” on the Oklahoma rockers. Intense dislike for The Flaming Lips aside, their work ethic is undeniably impressive, culminating with their 12th release, the 18-track, nearly feature film length double LP, Embryonic.

Fans of The Flaming Lips melodic, radio friendly tunes will be surprised by Embryonic, which harkens back most closely to 1997′s Zaireeka. There are few vocal hooks present on the dark, freeform album that meshes Americana, kraut, prog and psychedelic influences. Listening like a 72-minute whirlwind acid trip through the Mojave Desert, I can honestly say, at their least accessible is when I find The Flaming Lips the most palatable.

My unwillingness to hop aboard The Flaming Lips’ bandwagon is largely due to a fierce distaste for Wayne Coyne’s voice. Coyne’s high-pitched warble takes backseat on Embryonic, flitting in and out, distorted amongst lush washes of instrumental sound. Best heard on the track “Powerless”, the results are eerie, haunting and trippy. Less is more, and Coyne’s voice is memorable and commanding when used with restraint.

Embryonic is best listened to straight through, in a single sitting. Reluctant non-fans of The Flaming Lips will find the challenge daunting, but instrumental gems like the feedback dripping, immersive “Aquarius Sabotage” and the noisy, crashing “Scorpio Sword” will win you over and make the experience well worth your time. Ending on a high note, Embryonic’s final track “Watching The Planets”  folds the listener into a full-on jam session that fades to black as the album closes.

Embryonic is a surprising and welcome return to the organic for a band that had seemed to settle into mainstream shoes a little too quickly and too eagerly. I will probably never convert to Flaming Lips fandom, but lost in the elusive Embryonic I found myself hating this band just a little bit less.

- Scrooge McFuck