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Review: The Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends [Album]

Bella Union// "Still the unmistakable sound of The Flaming Lips, but even better".

by sophieroberts3, June 27th, 2012 and has been Read 1185 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire June 30th, 2012.

The Flaming Lips themselves are a band that need no introduction, but any album with such a vast and vibrant mix of collaborators as ‘The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends’ requires some sort of explanation. The album was first released on Record Store Day, and the songs featuring Yoko Ono, Neon Indian, Lightning Bolt and Prefuse 73 were orginially on collaborative EPs. Now, however, the album is available digitally and on CD so that everybody can enjoy its madness.

When the “featuring Ke$ha” appeared on the opening track, '2012' I inwardly braced myself. However, '2012' sees the Tik Tok singer at her best, containing jazzy claps, snatches of explosive bass, celestial electronic sighs and Ke$ha’s pseudo-innocent vocals contrasting with the sheer amount of cosmic insanity that is going on. And I haven’t even mentioned the blind cyberman that seems to have been wandering in and out of the room whilst recording was going on. Overall, '2012' sounds like it was put together by a deranged child, which sets the tone nicely for the rest of the album.

The intergalactic theme continues in ‘Ashes in The Air,’ in which the thumping drums echo the cinematic tones of The Flaming Lips’ 2002 album, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. The vivid shooting star synths and Bon Iver’s wonderfully ethereal vocals make this a surreal, slow-tempo masterpiece.

In ‘Helping The Retarded To Know God’, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros contribute large quantities of their indie charm, and in doing so create a kind of musical tug of war. Here, the collaborators are bringing country vocals and forlorn acoustic guitar riffs, whilst Wayne Coyne is yanking in the other direction by interspersing the track with electronic whirls and a monotonous, echoing vocal. However, instead of clashing horribly, the two qualities come together to create a sad sounding and beautiful track.

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Somewhere around the middle of The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, things get a bit dark, but in the best way possible. ‘Children of The Moon’ feels a bit heavier than the tracks that precede it with its distorted quality and psychedelic bassline, layered masterfully over the gentle sounds of an acoustic guitar. The Flaming Lips have got almost thirty years of experience on their side, and they know how to put it to use. In ‘That Ain’t My Trip,’ featuring Jim James, singer from My Morning Jacket, is psychedelic rock meets Dracula’s castle in a stunningly gothic way, complete with bells, screams and drums, and in ‘You, Man? Human???’ Nick Cave sounds like he could take over from Vincent Price in Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’.



‘I’m Working At Nasa On Acid’ breaks up the darkness when it kicks in with a riff that is reminiscent of cowboy shoot outs in old Western films. Just when the listener feels like they can relax in the rich imagery of a dramatic desert scene, The Flaming Lips suddenly switch things up with space rock elements and a rocket launch in the middle of the song. Odd, unexpected moments like that, or like Erykah Badu’s haunting vocals in a cover of ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ are what ultimately keep the album so interesting.

‘Tasered and Maced’, the final track, sums up the strange tone of the album in what is essentially an eerie monologue by Aaron Behrens, repeating himself about cops, inebriation and police chases. Is this choice of words a serious statement about criminality, or just an accessory to add to the tense nature of the track? We just don’t know, and that is part of the beauty of it!

One of the best things about The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends is its versatility- the use of artists that are in some ways similar and yet so different to The Flaming Lips which adds a fascinating quality to each track. It’s still the unmistakable sound of The Flaming Lips, but even better.

Weird they may be, but dull? Never.