Last week saw the release of the latest album by indie rock demi-gods The Flaming Lips, “The King’s Mouth: Music and Songs.” It’s a true concept album, telling the story of a Giant who became a King and then died using his massive body to stop an avalanche from destroying his Kingdom/City. After his death, his people removed his head, waited for his mouth to open, and then dipped it in steel, preserving it forever and turning his massive silver head into something people could go to worship his memory.
The story is told through spoken-word narration throughout the album by Mick Jones (of The Clash). The conceit is unique. Kind of a audio book with musical flourishes. Sometimes there’s complete songs without any narration (the bouncy “How Many Times”) and sometimes there’s a mix of the two (“All for the Life of the City”) but a majority of the tracks, especially in the second half, are mostly narration with musical accompaniment. Notably, this is a iteration of the Flaming Lips that is surprisingly restrained. Looking at some of their work since Embryonic (an underrated epic), you would expect those musical flourishes to be seeped in reverb, loud, and distracting.
You would be wrong.
In fact, the majority of the album is often melancholic as the narrator tells the sad story of the Giant, whose mother died in labor, and how much his people loved him, even more so after his own death. In the poignant closing moments of the album, in the album highlight “Mouth of the King,” a strumming acoustic guitar buoys the song with hopeful lyrics. Elsewhere, melodic beats and hypnotic strings paint a charming landscape for a sometimes dark, but ultimately inspiring story.
It’s a weird, eccentric album from a band that’s tried almost everything in their repertoire over the course of fifteen albums and thirty years. Yet, they keep surprising.
Elad Haber 