When I first heard this album with no prior knowledge, I was kind of shocked by how it sounded. It was nothing like the Flaming Lips I knew. But then again, I probably shouldn't have been. It's a band known for reinventing itself every decade or so, and this was just the next step. It also ended up being my favorite album by them, though I won't argue with anyone who still prefers The Soft Bulletin. Embryonic is extremely loud, experimental, and (in my opinion) awesome. It's a double album that goes by quicker than pretty much any that I've heard, and it's pretty much just a parade of unique, consistently entertaining songs. Some set a strange mood you don't usually get from music, and some explode with energy. It's not for everyone, but there's a lot of fun to have with it if you want. It also features appearances by MGMT and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which might be construed as attention-grabbing but worked out interestingly for me.
I'm not even sure where to start with all the good songs. Well, my favorite song is definitely "Worm Mountain", which has a great, crunchy guitar line and is pretty much nonstop greatness for five minutes. I could also start at the beginning, with "Convinced of the Hex" and "The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine" both immediately alerting you to the fact that this ain't the same band as before. "Powerless" and "The Ego's Last Stand" close and begin the first and second acts, and are perhaps the height of the band's grandiose experimentation on the album. There's a few instrumentals sprinkled around, which help maintain cohesion through the record's unique arc of continuity and are generally pretty entertaining in their own right. "Silver Trembling Hands" might be the most startling track of all, and also some of the straightest rock to be found. "Watching the Planets" is a great closer, somehow compelling and disheartening at once. There's plenty of songs I didn't mention that are worth hearing as well, because while I'm not trying to be too complimentary here, I'm not sure I've heard another album with so many songs with pretty much all of them actually being good. Again, it might not work for you at all, but I thought it was great.
AAAAAGGGHHHH
15 years ago
3 comments:
I'm a big Lips fan and I absolutely hated Embryonic when I first heard it, but it grew on me quickly and now I love it. It's a huge departure from their last three albums, poppy songs you can sing in the car. This is more of an album that you listen to so you can hear and feel a different atmosphere from anything music has ever made you feel before. It's strange and disturbing but beautiful at the same time. I like all of the Zodiac jams the most, especially Virgo.
Great blog, by the way. I love checking back to see what you've covered since I last visited.
God, how did I not notice the Zodiac thing?
Supposedly, they were all random jams they could never work into previous albums, so they cleaned them up and added them into Embryonic (to great effect, in my opinion). They're all excellent segues.
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