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rating : 8.5 |
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Some people don't like the Flaming Lips,
and i don't understand them.
This album was recorded after the death
of a friend of the band named Yoshimi. It's a cheer up/hold on message for
Yoshimi's family. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" shows Wayne Coyne as one of the most sensitive
and empathic songwriters out there. The title track is an incredible
psychedelic and oniric pop song. Despite the
starting point of this project, the album is far from being gloomy, it
is rather uplifting and innocently optimistic. The beginning of the
album is catchier than its end (apart from "Do You Realise",
the great first single). "In the Morning of the Magicians"
and "Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell" are two great
psyche pop songs and "Are You a Hypnotist" and "It's
Summertime" (which features the song of birds singing in the
background) are two slow sunny pop jewels.
The arrangements are quite different from "The Soft
Bulletin" which was filled with strings and horns. This albums
sounds a little more modern, with luxurious electronic arrangements
and weird bass sounds.
The heartless ones who didn't like "The Soft Bulletin" will
not like "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" despite its being
a step forward, unlike Mercury Rev's latest capitalistic effort. The ones who
liked/loved "The Soft Bulletin" will find a
new-ish sound and the same naive humanity that make the Flaming Lips
such a singular band.
-Vsevolod