Reading Time: 2 min read

4 out of 5 stars

The Flaming Lips, Oczy Mlody ยฉ WarnerThe Flaming Lips return in enigmatic, experimental fashion on โ€œHow??โ€, one of four pre-release singles from album, Oczy Mlody.

Experimental rock band The Flaming Lips donโ€™t sell particularly well. Did they ever? The answer is a resounding no. To date, the RIAA has certified just one TFL album: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robot.ย  Regardless, the band is prolific, continuing to push boundaries musically.ย  After a two-year hiatus โ€“ With a Little Help From my Fwends, released in late 2014 โ€“ TFL return with new album, Oczy Mlody.ย  Ahead of Oczy Mlody, the band issued four singles: โ€œHow??โ€, โ€œSunrise (Eyes of the Young)โ€, โ€œThe Castleโ€, and โ€œWe a Famlyโ€.

โ€œHow??โ€ Opens enigmatically, as to be expected from The Flaming Lips. A spacy joint, vibe is everything here. Itโ€™s very druggy and psychedelic. The record features unique lyrics from the jump.ย  On the first verse one, frontman Wayne Coyne sings: โ€œWhite trash rednecks, earthworms eat the ground / Legalize it, every drug right now.โ€ย  The reaction from all listeners should be the same โ€“ WTF? What do the lyrics really mean? That is the question. ย Vocally, Coyne sounds true to himself. ย An interesting moment occurs at the close of the first verse. Coyne sings: โ€œKill your rock n roll, motherf*ckinโ€™ hip-hop sound.โ€ Smartly, the record embraces that sensibility at that moment (production). Even though TFL have been around since the 1980s, itโ€™s interesting they manage to make โ€œHow??โ€ unique and distinctive after so many years in the game. The pre-chorus is both catchy and memorable: โ€œI tried to tell you but I donโ€™t know how!โ€ The bridge packs-even-more punch, adding more sounds and intensity from Coyne:

โ€œBack when we were young, we killed everyone
If they fucked with us, with our baby guns
We were young with our baby guns
We were young with our baby guns.โ€

Final Thoughtsย 

As always, TFL always delivers a compelling record and โ€œHow??โ€ is no different. Lyrically itโ€™s not deep, but as a soundtrack of sorts or potentially part of Oczy Mlody, it is on-point

4 out of 5 stars


The Flaming Lips โ€ข Oczy Mlody โ€ข Warner Bros. โ€ขย Release: 1.13.17
Photo Credits: Warner Bros.

 

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the musical hype

the musical hype aka Brent Faulkner has earned Bachelor and Masters degrees in music (music Education, music theory/composition respectively). A multi-instrumentalist, he plays piano, trombone, and organ among numerous other instruments. He's a certified music educator, composer, and a freelance music journalist. Faulkner cites music and writing as two of the most important parts of his life. Notably, he's blessed with a great ear, possessing perfect pitch.

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