At War With the Mystics [CD]

'The Soft Bulletin' and 'Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots', the Flaming Lips' previous two albums, have both received the sort of praise that doesn't come along very often. And this, inevitably, means that we're due a backlash. They couldn't put a foot wrong on '...Bulletin' and 'Yoshimi...', so there was no way they could maintain the same level of excellence for the third time. Right? Well, yes and no as it turns out. Firstly, the Flaming Lips are to be applauded for daring not to trot out the same formula for a third consecutive time. Had they done so, the album would have been treading water, resting on laurels - whatever you want to call it. The off-the-wall oddity of old makes something of a return: the swooning beauty of their two previous efforts is tempered with more of their pre-fame inverted acid drenched punk pop.

Opener 'The Yeah Yeah Yeah' song certainly taps into this vein: think Talking Heads criss-crossed with the Beach Boys at their bounciest and you won't be far wrong. If it's a welcome change, then the Scissor Sisters dirge that is 'Free Radicals' certainly isn't. In terms of pace 'At War With the Mystics' sprints out of the blocks with these two upbeat numbers, but then subsides into blissful melancholy for the next several numbers before resurfacing into chirpy mode with the cheesy verse/glorious chorus goggle-eyed chant that is 'It Overtakes Me'. As a whole this rather destabilizes the balance of the album, and certainly doesn't work first time out. But the second quarter of the album is certainly worth revisiting, featuring as it does moments of real power - most notably on 'My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion', every bit the equal of their dreamscape 'Yoshimi...' efforts. All the good work, alas, is almost undone by the bloated 'It's Dark...Is It Always This Dark' suite tacked on to the end of the otherwise majestic 'The Sound of Failure' and the pointless half-baked noodle of 'The Wizard...'

If the first half is maddeningly inconsistent then it doesn't bode well for the second half. Remarkably, the second half of the album is far stronger. There is one possible duff track in 'Haven't Got A Clue', which is something the band could have knocked out in their sleep if we're honest. But the closing trio of the album is probably the best closing trio to an album they have ever done and almost makes you forgive the below par tracks beforehand. 'The W.A.N.D.' is a triumphant return to 'Transmissions...'/ 'Clouds Taste Metallic' era Flaming Lips, only this time with added stinging guitar spice and extra catchiness. Future single for sure. The absurdly titled 'Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung' is surely one of the Lips' all time top five songs - definitely the best song Pink Floyd never wrote at the very least, and with emotional euphoric clout (the second 'Now we'll be forever holding hands' line is a glorious moment) to boot. And after all the impressive 'look what we can do' musical fireworks, Wayne, Steven and Michael pull it out of the bag by stripping it back to a simple piano for the final album track 'Goin' On'. A gloriously understated piece, it is decisively melancholic in subject matter but oddly comforting in tone. It's a perfect finale to a sprawling, often experimentally grandstanding work.

Not a masterpiece then. But there is more good stuff than bad stuff, and most of the good stuff is very, very good. Newcomers are advised to go for 'The Soft Bulletin' and 'Yoshimi' first. But for the established Flaming Lips fan, 'At War With the Mystics' has plenty to offer. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

For once, people should believe the hype- this album is fantastic. It is quintessential Flaming Lips, managing to marry Pink Floyd type psychedelia and musicality (in places, it sounds like "Dark Side" rewritten for the 21st century) with (I know this sounds a sin for music snobs) catchy and beautiful pop/rock, which would make Coldplay jeolous. The usual themes and styles are all here- simple lyrics about life/death married with lavish production, combining to create an album of incredible warmth and beauty and one which (despite the cliche) really does reward repeated listening. Most people will be blown away on first listen by the more instant tracks, such as "Yeah Yeah Yeah Song", "Free Radicals" and "the WAND" but, after a few listens, it is the less obvious songs like "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion" and "Pompeii" that really strike a chord.

I have seen a number of reviews in which this album is compared unfavouarbly with the two that preceded it- Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi. For me, "Mystics" is more organic and warm than Yoshimi (the critics who complain about the indulgence of "The Wizard Turns On" here seem to have forgotten all about "Yoshimi Part 2" and seem to think that the last album consisted of 11 tracks all like "Do You Realise?") and, whilst I would agree that it is not as great as "The Soft Bulletin" (which, incidentally, is available from Amazon for less than a fiver, an absolute steal), that is an unfavourable comparison only in the sense that "Sgt Peppers..." is not as good as "Revolver". Furthermore, whilst I would agree that it is not the most immediate of albums, you have to ask yourself whether a great album is one that you can get into straight away; after all, on that test, "OK Computer" and "Nevermind" lag- for me, at least- well behind "Back to Bedlam" and "Hopes and Fears" and I know which albums are more likely to stand the test of time.

It may be that I have become jaded by the bizarre and unwarranted hype placed on bands like the Arctic Monkeys and albums like "X and Y" but I honestly believe that "At War with the Mystics" will ultimately be another in a mere handful of albums in my collection that I will return to, and be proud to own, a decade and more from now.

The Flaming Lips have now become predictably good. Yet some features of this adroit band remain entirely unpredictable, such as their desired artistic and thematic directions, which vary so erratically, yet laudably, with each release.

Here, the Lips choose to fully incorporate buzzing, distorted guitars for, arguably, the first time since 1995's 'Clouds Taste Metallic'. A track such as 'The W.A.N.D.' is more guitar-driven than anything you'll find on the two preceding albums, 'Yoshimi' and 'The Soft Bulletin'.

Moreover, thematically, the Lips have lent this album a previously atypical outward contemporary political edge, with 'The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song' finding vocalist Wayne Coyne musing philosophically over the influence of power on the individual. Delightfully, though, the Lips have not shed their idiosyncratic skin, and whilst 'The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song' may explore contemporaneously relevant themes, it is paradoxically unorthodox, with its robotic-sounding instrumentation and memorable 'yeah yeah yeah' harmonics. Pivotally, it sounds great and is a triumphant and apt commencement to AWWTM.

This disparity in style between AWWTM and the band's prior, aforementioned successes, has understandably left certain fans disappointed, however, even though this album may require comprehensive listening for steadfast 'Yoshimi' and 'Soft Bulletin' fans to acclimatise, it is well worth the effort, and the Lips must be commended for continually pushing sonic boundaries. This innovation is at its most glaring on the terrifically titled, 'Pompeii am Götterdämmerung', which encompasses some distinctive, skewed, psychedelic vocals, accompanied by haunting and rousing instrumentation, and is unlike anything in the band's back-catalogue. It's an irrefutably pioneering track.

So, for any Flaming Lips fan who has not purchased this gem yet, I will not ruin any more of its aural surprises. All I can suggest is that you buy this exceptionally inventive, painstakingly fashioned piece of work.