As shown in the documentary Fearless Freaks, the front lawn of Lips frontman Wayne Coyne appears normal, even though his backyard is littered with pieces of a full-sized spaceship in his backyard, something he’s building for a film project. Coyne may be a devoted homeowner, friend, and son, but ultimately his mind is elsewhere–on another planet, floating in space, caught in a fourth dimension from which strange and brilliant music emerges. The latest Lips album pairs such spacey charms with a seventies psychedelic rock vibe, harkening back to the band’s earlier work. However, the subject matter is somewhat less cerebral this time out, and more overtly political than ever. Portentous song titles like “The Sound of Failure/It’s Dark – Is It Always This Dark??” indicate that the band has been forced back to Earth out of sheer frustration with the current situation, which has Coyne lumping together George W., Britney Spears, and suicide bombers as three only slightly different faces of evil.
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