From the very beginning of the record, listeners know that they’re in for a wild ride. “Convinced of the Hex”, is full of shattering, midnight screams and ear-ripping guitars, before steady drums break to Wayne Coyne’s cassette-quality, muffled vocals. The record continues on at this bizarre clip, occasionally giving listeners a reprieve with a slower number, such as “Evil” or “If” before reaching the final freakout, the epic “Watching the Planets." The song pulls out all of the stops, assaulting the ears with splintering guitar, booming bass, banging drums, and screaming vocals. Along the way, we’re giving a lot of weirdness, but there’s also some quality stuff there. The musicians in the Flaming Lips are at the top of their game, especially bassist Michael Ivins, whose work in songs such as “Ego’s Last Stand” and the album’s opener are a wonder to behold. Guitarist Steven Drozd also shows struts his stuff, throwing in every effect and modulation he knows and creating sounds you may never have imagined a guitar could make. Along the way, the band also gets help from a wide variety of sources, from synth-pop group MGMT for the brain-busting “Worm Mountain”, to acclaimed singer Karen O in the songs “I Can Be a Frog” and “Watching the Planets”, and even mathematician Thorsten Wörmann for “Gemini Syringes”.

As far the content of the album itself, the lyrics are just as visceral and violent as the music, chronicling adventures in psychosis, drug use, and strange, dark adventures into other world. Though the songs on so mind-bending, it’s difficult to say what exactly each song is really saying. Wayne Coyne has always been skilled songsmith, and he’s upped his game considerably with Embryonic, giving us a look at the bizarre dreamscapes that lurk within his head but never truly giving us the map with which we could find the way.

It’s hard to say whether or not a seasoned Flaming Lips listener will enjoy this album. One thing that’s guaranteed is that it will make you feel something, and isn’t that the highest pinnacle that any album can achieve - making its audience feel something honest and genuine (even if that feeling is pure horror)?

Recommended Tracks: “Convinced of the Hex”, “Worm Mountain”, “Ego’s Last Stand”

-Ryan E. Johnson