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the flaming lips

Electric Würms - "The Bat"

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UorJph8VKJ0 (via Billboard)

Among next week's most exciting new music releases is the debut LP from Flaming Lips side-project, Electric Würms. The amusingly titled Musik, die Schwer zu Twerk finds the Steven Drozd-led outfit delivering a set of vibrant and surprisingly condensed prog/kosmische tunes that balance whimsy and weightiness. The project's virtues were put fully on display earlier this summer with lead single and album closer "Heart of the Sunrise" (a boldly truncated Yes cover). If that track left you intrigued or perhaps unconvinced, take one more glimpse via "The Bat" above. Enjoy!

Musik, die Schwer zu Twerk is due out August 19 on Warner Bros. But that's not all! The Flaming Lips are doing yet another one of their full-length cover albums, this time for The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and that is expected for October 28. Set to feature a wide array of guests including Miley Cyrus, Maynard James Keynan, Julianna Barwick, and Chuck Inglish; that sounds like it's gonna be freaking nuts! You can stream their take on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fktR7ardYU

The Flaming Lips - "Gates of Steel"

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Prolific psych-rockers The Flaming Lips have shared yet another new music video; this time for a cover of Devo's "Gates of Steel." Shot during the same live session as the "Turning Violent" video that dropped last week, the Freedom of Choice cut is brilliantly adapted to fit the radiantly noisy sonic and visual esthetic that the band's been flaunting since The Terror.

The cover comes across as incredibly triumphant in its own right, with it's twangy guitar, deliberate bass, spacey synth, and driving percussion providing a lush backdrop for Coyne's dramatic vocal delivery and mannerisms. To make matters even more epic, there's lots and lots of glitter. Enjoy!

The Flaming Lips - "Turning Violent"

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This week, The Flaming Lips shared the official music video for The Terror track, "Turning Violent." The audio and footage are taken from a particularly dynamic live rendition of the late-album cut. Here, the spacious intro and first verse are subdued to the point of nearly being inaudible, but give way to a thunderous second half characterized by passionate vocals from Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd over blaring and screeching electronic crashes. That the band has managed to make this song so abrasive and cathartic in the live setting is nothing short of impressive. Enjoy!

Check a review for the Flaming Lips' latest album below:

The Flaming Lips - "Try To Explain"

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The Flaming Lips drop a lyric video for the eerie "Try To Explain," which is one of the many spacey and synthetic tracks off the group's latest album, The Terror. The album drops officially next week. Enjoy!

Check a review for the Heady Fwends compilation the band dropped last year right here:

The Flaming Lips - "Sun Blows Up Today" (LOVED)

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The enigmatic Flaming Lips have dropped a new track today titled "Sun Blows Up Today" in an effort to hype up the release of their forthcoming LP, the Terror. Right now, the album is looking at an April 2nd release date, and this song attached to the lyric video above is actually going to be appearing in a Hyundai commercial video during the Superbowl. However, the song doesn't exactly scream the words "buy, buy, buy." I suppose it's extremely upbeat mood could be a pretty good foundation for an advertisement.

Commercial or no commercial, the song is pretty intriguing. The Flaming Lips have been getting weirder and weirder in their sonic experiments lately, and this song is no different in that respect. The song manages to be pleasingly poppy--as well as blissfully stupid--while riding on some hectic and noisy waves of muffled synths and guitars. The "solo" is pretty eyebrow-raising, too.