Review Summary: Lightning Bolt and The Flaming lips collaborative effort is nothing short of amazing
Two legendary bands collaborating is usually a dream come true for many fans. It provides opportunities for these bands to try new styles of music while simultaneously pleasing the fans. Many times the combined efforts of both bands result in usually one or two songs, never an EP or an album. Lightning Bolt and The Flaming Lips have created a full EP for our listening pleasure. Never ones to disappoint their fan base, Lightning Bolt and The Flaming Lips made sure these trippy jams were well crafted and well honed. This new EP is pretty much the ultimate in audio pleasure, and the ultimate in servitude of the fans. Essentially, this is quite possibly the greatest collaboration between two bands in a while. Forget Gnarls Barkley, and even forget Gorillaz (at least
The Fall era Gorillaz), this is quite possibly the greatest collaboration of all time.
Of all time.
The whole EP is just an auditory hallucination of pleasure. The song titles are even in the stoner mindset. The first side, The Flaming Lips with Lightning Bolt, is really strong but it comes off as a bit more contrived than the Lightning Bolt with Flaming Lips side.
I’m Working At NASA On Acid opens with a beginning of ringing acoustic guitar and melancholic psychedelia, then meanders off into a noisy Lightning Bolt jam. Wayne Coyne adds his delicately smooth vocals to the jam, turning the song on its head and spiraling it into a relaxed state in the end. Then,
I Want To Get High But I Don’t Want Brain Damage turns into a mid paced jam of noisy Lightning Bolt style material with someone slowly shouting, “I wanna get high” repeatedly. It adds a trippy effect to the music in an indescribable way.
The Lightning Bolt with Flaming Lips side is just as good, if not better than the first.
NASA’s Final Acid Bath is an incredibly loud song reminiscent of the best material on
Wonderful Rainbow. Near the end it turns into a slow, almost drone metal jam that will leave your mind (and your bowels) rumbling. The last song repeats the phrase of song 2 and it turns into a tribal psychedelic jam. It almost has a hip hop groove to the drums that works so well with the echo-y guitar and bass patterns. The whole second side is just incredible.
The Flaming Lips and Lightning Bolt are two of my favorite bands so this review may seem completely biased, but it really isn’t. The chemistry between the two bands is incredible, with each ones sound working in the others favor. It’s a psychedelic audio trip of ultimate fan service, and it couldn’t get any better. All we ask for is a full length album. Yet still, this could be one of the best releases of 2011, and maybe ever. An incredible collaborative effort, Lightning Bolt and The Flaming Lips prove that two different sounds can work together so well and not ending up a pile of crap.
