The newest album from the Flaming Lips is a track-by-track remake of The Beatles’ seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. A ballsy move for anyone to attempt, but the Flaming Lips aren’t exactly strangers to breaking molds. For this outing, the band has recruited a sweeping assemblage of musicians to tackle the behemoth album.
The album opens, and immediately sounds like a nightmarish carnival, a band of freaks singing, before dropping into a great heavy bluesy take on the classic opener. It slides back to the carnival, and then worlds collide as a guitar shrieks through the synthy bassline. The Bluesy, Folksy weirdness of Jim James/My Morning Jacket and J Mascis are all over this one, with help from Fever The Ghost.
Queue a fast and furious drum solo, as you’d expect from Black Pus (Brian Chippendale). Calm harmonized vocals from John Stirratt of The Autumn Defense competing with Chippendale’s thrashing and screaming and so begins the schizophrenic weirdness of “With A Little Help From My Friends.” The juxtaposition of the two very different styles of music on one track makes an already somewhat sad song become a twistedly unsettling argument. somehow it works.
The famous synth intro to “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” kicks in, and the voice of Miley Cyrus comes in. And for the first time in my life I’m going to say, damn I’m glad I’m listening to Miley Cyrus. Her slight rasp over the vast musical landscape the Flaming Lips and Moby created together on this track is the perfect knockout combo. The chorus is bombastic and erratic, the verses serene. This is the first time the novelty of cover songs starts to disappear and the music speaks totally for itself.
“Getting Better” comes across much more as a classic psychedelic tune, highlighting the lo-fi 60’s vibe of Dr. Dog and Morgan Delt. The simple drum part is echoed beyond reason, the guitar twangs pleasantly, and the fat bassline holds it all together under the trippy organ swells. There’s a mellow happiness here that’s hard to escape, not that you’d want to.
“Fixing A Hole” is spacey and haunting. The bass resonates deeply, while the organ colors the background. Somehow, the Lips and Electric Wurms struck the perfect balance of acoustic and electronic music (something firmly in the Wurms wheelhouse), capturing a truly gorgeous recording in the process.
“She’s Leaving Home” stands in contrast, presenting a very electronic interpretation. Unfortunately, it’s incohesive in a lot of ways, relying too much on the sounds of Phantogram and Spaceface, and leaves much to be desired. It’s especially jarring after the gentle beauty of “Fixing A Hole.”
“Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” is, of course, a return to the bizarre carnival world of the album opener. Maynard James Keenan’s vocals are reminiscent of his work with A Perfect Circle, much more subdued. The track itself is very sparse and industrial for the verses, while the chorus and outro are broad and lush. And just like that, it’s over.
“Within You, Without You” keeps with the weird circus vibe, taking the spacey majesty of the original track and putting it on its ear. This rendition is jagged and noisy, and much too aggressive for the lyrics it’s paired with. Morgan Delt’s lo-fi sound may have been too much here.
“When I’m Sixty-Four,” however, strikes a better balance of noise and playful music, mixing the electronic sound of Pitchwafuzz and the serene spaciousness of Def Rain. Voice modulation colors the vocals, and the thumping bass beat keeps it all grounded. sadly, it never really goes anywhere, and feels somewhat underdeveloped.
“Lovely Rita” is vibey and fun, layering dense synth harmony and a pulsing bassline. Playful key parts and bouncy vocal work make for a very fun listen.
“Good Morning Good Morning” is brash and loud. There is just too much happening here, it’s extraordinarily distracting from the actual song, which is a shame because this is a highlight on the Beatles version of the album, but not terribly surprising. All three bands on this track, Treasure Mammel, Zorch, and Grace Potter, are often very spastic and upbeat, and they seem to step on each others toes here.
The “Reprise” is fast and loud, distorted but appropriately so. And then, where the track was meant to end, a psychedelic jam session erupts, and my god is it good. It’s intense and weird, exploratory and damn exciting. The experimental weirdness of Ben Goldwasser (of MGMT fame), and Foxygen work flawlessly on this.
“A Day In The Life” is, far and away, the hardest track to pull off. The song is legendary in music culture. The Lips rendition is patient and calm in the “John” sections, and trippy space rock in the “Paul” sections. Once again, Miley Cyrus is a weirdly perfect match for the tone of the song. And then, the crescendo builds, highlighting the often grandiose style of New Fumes….and you’re left hanging. It’s jarring and frustrating, and very Beatles. They’d have loved it.
Overall, there are a lot of hits and a handful of misses that end up making a surprisingly good record. This certainly isn’t for everyone, but it’s certainly worth giving a listen by even detractors of the bands other work, if only for the standouts like “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” and “Fixing A Hole.”