CD Review

Sometimes too much attention to detail can cause you to lose focus on the big picture. With the Flaming Lips, that excessive scrutiny over minute details is the big picture. Albums aren’t released with a whim and pumped out on quota - they are laborious endeavors that consume months of recording hours, not to mention the lives of the Lips and longtime producer Dave Fridmann. Following the opus that was The Soft Bulletin, and the charismatic light of Yoshimi was no small task, but At War With The Mystics is another explosive studio effort, that ultimately comes in a distant third.

The ever-strained vocals of Wayne Coyne pour out commentary on the political climate, life, death and love, all done with his signature ‘we’re all in this together’ rock ’n roll bliss. “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song,” “It Overtakes Me” and “Mr Ambulance Driver” roll with bubble pop, radio-ready dance beats - the latter even spunky enough for the Wedding Crashers soundtrack. Then stuck in the middle is “The Wizard Turns On…” which compliments the party with some Funkadelic, but that’s where the silliness ends.

Where the Lips really defeat the Mystics is in the rock category. The heavy fuzz of “Free Radicals” rattles weak stereo woofers, and the terrestrial echoes of “Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung” rise into a raucous space anthem. But “The W.A.N.D.,” despite it’s early leakage and heavy promos, stands secure as another instant FLips classic. A rare arena rocker from a band known for intricate subtleties, the power track is driven home with Coyne yelling, ‘We got the power now motherfuckers/that’s where it belongs.’ Guess all that attention to detail can get to you after a while.

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