King’s Mouth

Part of a larger work that also includes a book and an art installation, on King's Mouth: Music and Songs the Flaming Lips revisit the heartfelt yet massive-sounding songs that earned albums like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots so much love and acclaim. This return isn't a total surprise; after the musically and emotionally challenging Embryonic and The Terror, the band had already shifted to a lighter sound on Oczy Mlody. Hints of that album pop up on songs like "The Sparrow," which boasts a nursery rhyme melody reminiscent of "The Castle" as well as gritty drums and blobby synths that could have been borrowed from Yoshimi. King's Mouth also bridges the Lips' past and present by inflating the themes of loss and change they explored on albums like The Terror to larger-than-life proportions: Narrated by Mick Jones, the album tells the story of a giant king who makes the ultimate sacrifice when an avalanche threatens his city. To show their gratitude, the townspeople cut off his head and dip it in steel, preserving it as an eternal monument to his altruistic love. The album's mythic scale comes to life vividly on the poignant "Mother Universe," where drifting choral vocals, strings, and vibraphone telegraph the young king's yearning for his mother, who died in childbirth, and on "Electric Fire," where fittingly majestic brass and synth bass reach towering heights as the king's head absorbs storms and galaxies. Meanwhile, "Feedaloodum Beedle Dot"'s bubbling funk sounds like it was played on toy instruments, making for an intriguing, albeit jarring, contrast with the album's more cosmic-sounding songs. Thanks to Jones' narration, King's Mouth often evokes the psychedelic children's albums of the late '60s and '70s as well as the Lips' own childlike wonder (considering that Wayne Coyne became a father around the time the band worked on this project, that's probably not a coincidence). However, at times the album's story seems too big for its length. Though it may be about a giant ruler, many of its songs are surprisingly short, especially compared to Oczy Mlody's wanderings. As a result, the album sometimes feels anticlimactic; "All for the Life of the City" is so breezy, the king's decision to give his life seems almost offhanded. However, when the band digs a little deeper, the results are classic Flaming Lips. Set to pitch-shifted vocals and chirping synths, "How Many Times??" is a heartwarming ode to not giving up while growing up. Likewise, "The Mouth of the King" and "How Can a Head??" are filled with Technicolor sounds, bittersweet wonder, and reminders to be kind that live up to the album's -- and the band's -- full potential. Even if it's not quite as fully realized as some of their other albums, King's Mouth boasts enough beautiful music and striking imagery to make it well worth hearing, especially for Flaming Lips fans who miss the music they made in the 2000s. ~ Heather Phares