Its been a while since the Flaming Lips have returned to their classic formula of song-driven alternative psych-rock.Kings Mouth, an elaborate concept LP featuring spoken-word narration from the Clashs Mick Jones, is, in some senses, a back to basics return to form for the group. There are a few moments of unexpectedly traditionalist beauty: the albums lovely closing one-two punch of Mouth of the King and How Can a Head finds frontman Wayne Coyne falling back in love with the type of minimalist songcraft and plainspoken question-seeking that the band crystallized during their turn-of-the-century heyday. All For the Life of the City, on the other hand, is a stuttering pop earworm with bright production and easy melody anchored with a simple descending bass line.
But Kings Mouth, with its slow-moving songscapes and disruptive spoken word meditations, can also make for an arduous listen. Coynes conceptual story, alongside an accompanying art installation and an illustrated book, may very well illuminate the records narrative about about power, death, kingdoms and sacrifice.
But as a stand-alone piece of music, its pacing tends to remain too static to uphold its heavy premise. The best songs arrive far too late, and early tracks like How Many Times and Giant Baby can be hard to distinguish from recent Coyne experiments like 2017s Oczy Mlody.Itd be a mistake to expect the band, which has undergone a series of lineup changes and stylistic evolutions over the past decade, to try to recreate any of the genre-bending magic from classic LPs like The Soft BulletinorYoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. But for a group whose secret weapon was always sturdy songcraft, the bona fide old-school highlights on Kings Mouth tend to come too far and few between.