There are three aspects about this band and album that you can just take a look at and know that you’re in for a real trip. The Flaming Lips is a random and strange band name, there have been three rumors about how the band came up with the name, and lets just say they do with drugs, porno, and Virgin Marries. Now take a look at some of these ironic song titles. They deal with watermelon guns, hospital ships, and fetuses, pretty strange huh? The final step is to take a look at the cover art. It’s simply a picture of four men in a recording studio, the man on the far right is Wayne Coyne and I’m not sure what the hell he Is thinking. The words “Clouds Taste Metallic” look like they have been colored in faded pencil by a five year old. If you want to think about seriously purchasing this album I’m just here to tell you that it’s not your typical rock album.
This is the Flaming Lips most raw and noisy album. It borrows influences from noise-pop, punk, psychadelica, hard rock, acid blues, and folk. Instead of taking on one genre at a time, The Flaming Lips decide to fuse everything together to create one sloppy, distorted album.
Abandoned Hospital Ship
The Lips kick off the album with a slow, eerie track that quickly transfers into a acid-drenched rocker. The song starts off with Wayne turning on a projector, he starts singing in his nasally, whimsical high pitched voice. Piano chords come into the background and the song is extremely mellow, and somewhat eerie. Than all of a sudden everything stops, a few electronic noises come in and than a screaming acid-drenched guitar lick comes in. Shortly following this is Drozds heavy drum beat. The song turns into an acid-drenched, psychedelia, rock song. Bells are added towards the end of the song and it sounds like Christ is born again. This goes on for about a minute and a half, and than the song quickly comes to an end. 5/5.
The Psychiatric Explorations of the Fetus with Needles
What a song title, possibly the oddest and most entertaining off the album. Soft guitar strums kick things off, joined by odd scratching sounds and a soft, gentle drum beat. The first 45 seconds of the song is ambient and is basically building up into another heavier rock song. Once again the Lips start rocking out, a distorted, fuzzy guitar riff comes in along with yet another heavy drum beat. The bass line is simple, yet effective. Twinkly effects are added during the chorus, the fuzzy guitar combined with the heavy drum beat create static and confusion. Throughout all of this Coyne is wailing as loud as he can, singing about animals. They repeat the same process again and in result you get a loud, catchy, bubble gum pop song. 4.5/5
Placebo Headwound
After two hard rocking tracks in comes Placebo Headwound. This track is a lot more relaxing and calm. A soft guitar riff starts things off, after this Wayne comes in singing to combine with the guitar riff. Drums are added followed by some eerie “oooohhhhh” sounds coming from the guitarist. The guitar riff, is extremely simple and catchy at the same time. Coyne sounds extremely whiney in this track, and his voice mixes well with the soft riff. About three minutes into the song another screaming guitar riff comes into play along with another simple drum beat. The song closes with a fuzzy, detached guitar line. 5/5
This Here Giraffe
This is the most quirky and poppy song featured on the album. A drum beat kicks things off shortly followed by a twinkly guitar line. About twenty five seconds into the song Wayne comes in with his high and carefree voice. Coyne sounds like he is on drugs, simply because his voice is so high pitched and he is singing about giraffes. This continues on for quite a while, until the chorus. The chorus is catchy, and contains the same twinkly guitar line as mentioned before. Towards the end of the song the twinkly guitar riff turns into a heavier distorted line, and the fuzzy bass line is another noticeable aspect. The song closes with the chorus, and an odd detached bass line. This is the catchiest and most simple pop song off the album, there isn’t too much new here but it is catchy. 4/5
Brainville
The Lips completely turn things around from the previous four tracks. Brainville is an eerie, creepy and slow paced track. A hollow guitar line starts things off along with Wayne almost whispering in a low pitched voice. The chorus is extremely playful, the guitar line doesn’t change much and the only thing different about the chorus is that a drum beat is added, and Wayne starts singing in a more high-pitched voice. About two minutes into the song a distorted guitar lick come into play on and off, and remain in the chorus. The song closes out with the same riff that started everything, but the Lips have also added in some more heavy guitar lines in the background to spruce things up. The song doesn’t really go anywhere, but it’s effective just because of it’s lo-fi creepiness.3.5/5
Guy Who Got a Headache and Accidentally Saved the World
I’m really loving the original and odd song titles the Lips have came up with so far, it’s quite impressive. A heavy, trippy, detached guitar line kicks things off accompanied by the heaviest drum beat off the album. A bass line comes in and this is possibly the messiest track on the album. The riff stays same throughout most of the song, as well as the heavy drum beat and druggy bassline. Coyne sings throughout most of the song, he sounds like he is just rambling on about the universe and pickles. The vocals are quite hard to make out just because the overall messiness and drugged up instruments on the song. About four minutes into this a psychadelic dream pop type feel is added. Electronic effects come into play as well as a radio announcer talking about a guy saving the world. This is a heavy track that contains druggy hooks as well as the dream-pop closing. 4.5/5
When You Smile
A soft, gentle riff starts off the song, along with various echoing effects. The riff continues on and a drum beat comes in. The song sounds like it about to explode at any moment, but the twinkly guitar line stays present and everything remains soft and cool. About a minute and a half into the song, everything just erupts. The soft guitar line goes into another fuzzy acid-drenched riff along with the distorted bassline. Quickly after this the song slows down, and Coyne is still singing in his whimsical and gentle voice. The song remains cool and the twinkly guitar line and bass line close things out, along with some atmospheric space effects. This is one of the most mellow tracks on the album, it is playful, catchy and also features hints of psychadelica and folk. 5/5
Kims Watermelon Gun
The song kicks off with a raw bass line and an extremely fuzzy guitar riff also accompanied by a heavy drum beat. The scratchy riffs stay present throughout the song and the chorus is very messy. Wayne sings “Kim’s got her watermelon gun” and it seems like he can barely shout over the mess of instruments. Although the song is sloppy, the distorted bass line and scratchy guitar effects are extremely catchy and make this an ideal noise-pop tune. There are not soft, or slower paced parts in the song. Nothing really alters throughout the song. The chorus is addicting and you won’t be able to get the distorted bass line out of your head. The lyrics are also quite strange, they are about the bass player of Sonic Youth and an affair that she had. 5/5
They Punctured My Yolk
After a heavy, riff based rock song the Lips turn things around and create a bubbly, dream/psychadelic song. A drum roll is repeated throughout the whole entire song, it only stops later in the song when Wayne briefly sings by himself. At first the song is just a marching drum roll and Wayne singing in a soft depressing tone. Throughout the track there are various odd electronic effects, as well as gentle “oooohhhh” backing vocals. The song slowly builds up, and a guitar riff manages to make it way into the song at about three and a half minutes into the song. Than another acid drenched guitar lick comes appears out of nowhere and Coyne joins the cast of backing vocalists and “oooohhhhs” with them. The first word that comes to mind when I think of this track is spacey, atmospheric, and dark. 5/5
Lighting Strikes the Postman
This is the most noisy and loud song featured on the album, from the second it begins you are hit with a wall of sound. .Things immediately start with a dense, grungy guitar line, crashing drum cymbals can be heard over the crunchy guitar line. The most noticeable aspect of the song would have to be the vocals. They are completely altered and it makes it so Wayne’s voice is muffled, yet loud. At about one minute and a half into the song a crunchy guitar solo comes in, the whole song is a dense, noisy, mess. Nothing changes until two and a half minutes when things come to a crashing end and all that can be heard is Coyne singing in a soft whisper, and gentle guitar licks surround him. The song closes with soft electronic effects and a guitar twinkle. 4/5
Christmas at the Zoo
Jingly guitar riffs kick things off, immediately followed by a sharp drum beat. Coyne comes in singing in a lazy voice, he sounds like he just got out of bed. The chorus is a bit fuzzy, but for the most part the song keeps its mellow, feel. About two and a half minutes into the song Coyne starts whistling the chorus, and the jangly riffs quickly turn into more detached guitar riffs. Nothing really changes here, the song remains calm and the odd lyircs about animals running from the zoo make things extremely entertaining and interesting. This is the weakest track off the album, Coyne sounds bored and the song doesn’t venture away from the jangly guitar licks and simple drum beat. 3/5
Evil Will Prevail
A slow, low key acoustic track comes into play. An eerie guitar strum plays the first thirty seconds of the track, and than Coyne comes in with his soft yet high pitched voice. The twinkly, acoustic riff continues on for about two minutes, Coyne sounds strong on this track and his soft, low key vocals are soothing yet detached. After this some piano chords come onto the scene along with odd sounding electronic effects. Than the song goes into one of the catchiest lines on the whole entire album. It is comprised of simple piano chords, a soothing bass line and some scratchy guitar sounds. Coyne repeats “Evil will prevail” about 10 times while the bubblegum pop riff plays on. The song closes with twenty seconds of silence, leading us into the albums closer. This is possibly the softest track on the album, and the second half is quirky and upbeat due to the extremely catchy piano chords and bass line. 5/5
Bad Days (Aurally Excited Version)
The song starts off with a few moments of silence, than a muted trumpet gradually creeps in along with a soft bass line. The Lips bring back the “ooohh oooh” backing vocals, and Wayne comes quickly in with a carefree, and extremely high pitched voice. A twinkly guitar line is present in the background, and a few moments after this an xylophone comes in and can be heard in the background. Two minutes into the song Drozds soft drum beat comes in, and the twinkly guitar line quickly transfers into another fuzzy, detached guitar riff. Soon after this a bass line enters and the song turns into a static, melodic riff. The xylophone is easily heard and the song has heavy hints of psychadelica and pop. The muted trumpet appears at 3:15, and than the song goes back into the fuzzy riff. Finally the song comes to a close with a smooth xylophone line. 5/5
Overall I think that this album is superb. There is not a weak track, everything flows together and you will not be skipping any songs. ‘Clouds Taste Metallic’ shows a lot of range. There are some ambient acoustic influenced songs, acid-punk tracks, and dreamy psychadelic noise-pop tunes. Nothing gets old, simply because this album has so much to offer. If you are getting into the Flaming Lips than this album is a great place to start if you realize what you’re getting into. If you are a fan of this band but have yet to check out the album than you really should because this is one of the strongest Lips releases lyrically, musically, and instrumentally.
