Flaming Lips
Embryonic
(Warner Bros.)

In this age of gnat-like attention spans, to make a mammoth album is an act of anachronistic defiance. But the Flaming Lips — those acid-gobbling robot-obsessed freaks from Oklahoma — have always been defiant. Defiantly weird, defiantly loud, defiantly entertaining. Embryonic — with its gong-banging, synth-blipping, and southern-fried sprawl — appears to have some sort of underlying/overarching astrological high concept (There are tunes with titles like "Aquarius Sabotage," "Gemini Syringes," and "Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast"). For those who thought the band had burned through its supply of creative fuel after 2002's luminous concept album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, this hypnotic record offers pulsing proof of life in other galaxies of their minds. With guest appearances by the animal-yipping Karen O and Wesleyan alums MGMT, Embryonic is like the sonic equivalent of staring into the sun for an hour. The themes of decay/rebirth, natural forces and cosmic rhythms add weight to what could otherwise be a trippy diversion. The record's closer, "Watching the Planets," is strong psychedelic kraut-flavored medicine. Fans of Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii and Can's Ege Bamyasi will want to ease back, maybe put on a headband (or two) and watch the walls melt.