While continuing in the subdued, synth-heavy vein of 2013’s The Terror, the 15th album from Oklahoma psychedelicists the Flaming Lips is at least less lyrically bleak, its conceptual arc encompassing freely defecating green-eyed unicorns, sleep and futuristic drugs. Rich in interesting R&B-influenced textures, its songs too often fail to engage, particularly on a ponderous second half. And there’s still no solution to the recurring problem they’ve had since ditching the (often cloying) euphoria of their late 90s/early 00s commercial peak: the vocal shortcomings of Wayne Coyne – a man with a voice only Ian Brown’s mother could love – seem so much more exposed. Indeed, it’s telling that the strongest song here is the closing We a Famly, on which he’s helped out by Miley Cyrus.
