The Flaming Lips have put out another fun little record that has a lot of weird-yet-catchy tunes. As usual, it’s filled with quiet, relaxing songs that juxtapose sometimes bleak lyrics with cheery harmonies. Of course, in order to break the tension, the band always adds in some humor and downright silliness to their repertoire.
Fight Test opens with a live version of the title track, which has a poppy guitar melody and a spacey twist that just makes you feel good inside. The album also features an eclectic selection of piano-driven cover songs, ranging from Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” to Radiohead’s “Knives Out.” The EP ends with an amusing country song offering gratitude to Jack White, White Stripes’s frontman.
Perhaps most interesting is Scott Hardkiss’s nine-minute long dance remix of “Do You Realize??” This is definitely the highlight of the record, with its steady trance beat and hypnotically redundant lyrics, al of which help create a trippy atmosphere conducive to the consumption of copious amounts of psychedelic drugs.
Overall, this is a thoroughly enjoyable EP that’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re a Flaming Lips fan. It’s not their best, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Archived article by Ratheet Pandya