At War with the Mystics
THE FLAMING LIPS
Warner Bros.
When the dust settled on 2002, I had to be honest and admit that the Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was a bit of a disappointment. While a handful of its tracks have justifiably entered the Lips' growing pantheon of classics, the record settled a little too easily into a morose electro groove — particularly during its middle stretch. Don't get me wrong: It's still a great record. But the band seemed (understandably) burdened with pushing away from the bombastic jubilee it trademarked on Yoshimi's brilliant predecessor The Soft Bulletin.
So when Mystics' advance single, "The W.A.N.D.," came out earlier this year, it was an immediate sugar rush. The track pastes together bug-zapper electric guitar, discothèque drumming and triumphalist politics into a no-contest pop masterstroke. If the universe is just, America should be shouting, "We got the power now, motherfuckers/ It's where it belongs" along with lead singer Wayne Coyne all summer long.
This new political edge, in particular, seems to have energized the band. On the opener — "Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" — Coyne sings a litany of questions, like, "If you could blow up the world with a flick of a switch/ Would you do it?"
The record, though, is by no means just an antiwar screed. "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion" and "Vein of Stars" are further entries in the band's catalogue of interstellar space jams. "The Sound of Failure/It's Dark… Is it Always This Dark??" is another meditation on mortality and melancholy, with the Lips' strange way of making sadness sparkle. "Goin' On" closes the record with a stripped-down (for the Lips) piano and organ groove, complete with angelic backing vocals.
Besides the band's obvious gifts in the songwriting department, what sticks in the mind with the Lips' music are the tiny sonic details that reward wearing out your CD player. The ambulance-turned-disco-siren on "Mr. Ambulance Driver" comes to mind, as does the fuzzy crunch when the drums and electric guitar come in halfway through "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion."
In short, the Flaming Lips continue to astound. Twenty-one years after the band's debut, Mystics displays no sign that the band's future will be any less profound, imaginative or joyous than we've come to expect. 4.5 stars Cooper Lane Baker
Gospel Music
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Hyena
Everyone should own at least one compilation of classic black gospel music, and this disc is as good as I can recommend. Record producer Joel Dorn and his friend of 40 years, photographer Don Friedlander, compiled 18 of their favorites '50s and '60s tunes, ranging from the small-group a cappella of The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet ("Go Where I Send Thee") to the gargantuan choir of Rev. James Cleveland ("Get Right Church," "He Decided to Die"). The essential touchstones are on hand: The Staple Singers ("Stand By Me" and "This May Be the Last Time," which the Stones stole for their "The Last Time"), Mahalia Jackson, the Soul Stirrers (with Sam Cooke), the Blind Boys of Alabama, The Dixie Hummingbirds and more. Gospel Music includes roof-raisers, jump tunes, ballads, meditations and stuff that sounds very much like doo wop. This needn't be said, but I'll say it anyway: You don't have to be religious to love this music. When singing is this expert and passionate, its appeal is universal. One notable shortcoming: The set lacks liner notes that could've provided valuable details on the acts and songs. 4.5 stars Eric Snider
Born Again in the USA
LOOSE FUR
Drag City
This is everything a side project should be: tossed-off, but revelatory nonetheless. The band is in fact a collaboration between Wilco guys Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche, and über-producer Jim O'Rourke. Tweedy and O'Rourke share songwriting and lead vocal duties across the 10 tracks here, with Kotche providing an impressive assortment of straight-ahead drumming and percussive flourishes. O'Rourke doesn't change much about the sound he's established over the course of his solo career. His "Answers to Your Questions" is yet another of his stately acoustic ballads. Tweedy, though, really sounds re-energized, and "The Ruling Class" sees him at his loosest and downright funniest since his days spent strolling Mermaid Avenue. 4 stars CLB
Things Go Better with RJ and AL
SOUL POSITION
Rhymesayers
Soul Position is an underground hip-hop duo made up of hot-shit producer Rjd2 and MC Blueprint. The two teamed up to stupendous effect on Rjd2's debut, Deadringer, but this full-length is a little half-baked. Most of the production doesn't come close to what Rjd2 has put on wax in the past, and Blueprint doesn't flash a lot of charm on the mic. "No Gimmicks" is a long list of what the duo is against (i.e. bling), but with its lazy beat and rhymes, it seems like the two forgot to be for something. "Hand-Me-Downs" and "The Cool Thing to Do" both lift the CD from its doldrums, with tasty beats and positive lines, but little here equals those highlights. 3 stars CLB
This article appears in Apr 19-25, 2006.
