Another excursion through the looking glass of Wayne Coyne, the 12th in 23 years to be precise is an intoxicating experience of mellifluous other-worldly wonderment transporting you to a place very different from the one we reside in.

Backed up with the kind of gorgeous harmonising Brian Wilson orchestrated in the mid-60s with music imaginative enough to sound not only contemporary but calmly familiar taking in influences as varied as  drum n bass to Prince with lashings of fuzzed up bass and deep hallucinogenic psychedelia.

Laughing in the face of the theory that if you’re making music in your 30s you’re finished by at least 15 years, the Lips continue to go from strength to strength, this, in a triple whammy of brilliant albums starting with 1999s ‘The Soft bulletin and in between that and this, 2002’s ‘Yoshimi battles the pink robots, forward to this 2006 gem which completes their rich vein of form and is easily better than those albums that have preceded it.

Kicking off with the forthcoming upbeat single ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’ song where the sunny nature of the tune disguises its darker natured lyrics about dodgy world leaders making the world a more dangerous place  “Would you make everybody poor if you could be rich – would you do it?”. Politics come up throughout the album but not as in your face as on
‘Free radicals’ which despite it’s commendable intention is a directionless attempt at polemic which due to lack of tune goes absolutely nowhere but that is the only blip here, ‘you’re not so radical, infact you’re fanatical’, yep, cheers Wayne.

Elsewhere, ‘Mr Ambulance driver’ is a gorgeous techno influenced treat with the most sumptuous of vocal harmonising, ‘Haven’t got a clue’ is a pounding modern rock track backed with lush mid-70’s Beach Boys soaring harmonies, ‘It overtakes me’ starts off as the funkiest track you’ve ever heard before breaking down into a majestically funereal mess of Pink Floyd and way too many late nights and the shimmering ‘Pompeii am Gotterrdammerung is a sweeping mass of fuzzy white noise which is so otherworldly it’s as near to taking drugs without breaking the law.

Forget spotty kids from up north singing songs about beer when this is on the shelf, a certain bet for one of the albums of the year….with ease. 10/10

Chris Todd