Nell Smith, a 14-year-old girl from Leeds, and psychedelic heroes The Flaming Lips have unveiled their new album 'Where the Viaduct Looms', with nine Nick Cave covers. It all started three years ago when Smith became an instantly-recognizable regular at Flaming Lips shows thanks to her penchant for wearing a parrot costume, Consequence reports.

The band with the big balls
January 24, 2021

The Flaming Lips played their first bubbles show

The Flaming Lips played their first space bubbles show in Oklahoma City's The Criterion on Friday night (it was postponed from December due to rising COVID numbers). The show had fans in 100 inflatable balls, each of which could hold three people. Members of the band were in their own capsules as well. The band put on a typically bombastic spectacle, Brooklyn Vegan reports.

Do you realize, this might be awesome!?
November 12, 2020

The Flaming Lips to play first-ever concert in bubbles in December

The Flaming Lips have announced the "World's First Space Bubble Concert" - the band and the audience will all spend the show in giant plastic bubbles, at Oklahoma City's The Criterion on December 11. There are only 100 tickets available. Tickets are good for three people in each bubble and "All attendees must sign the waiver before attending the show".

The Flaming Lips played a show in their Oklahoma City hometown Tuesday night with both the band and the audience members in bubbles, Brooklyn Vegan reports. The show was intended both as a test for the space-bubble live-show concept and as a music video shoot. The band only played two songs at the show - 'Brother Eye' and 'Assassins Of Youth' - from their new album 'American Head', each song played twice.

Yoshimi battles the air pumps
October 09, 2020

Flaming Lips to set a concert - in bubbles

The Flaming Lips are planning a concert in their hometown of Oklahoma City where both the band and the audience will be in giant bubbles, Brooklyn Vegan reports. Band's Wayne Coyne said they started the bubble thing in 2006 as a joke "and now it's becoming kind of serious and real". Coyne says three people fit in each giant bubble, adding, from his personal experience, that it holds a lot of air. The idea is to hold a big concert, maybe even two concerts in one night.

Krystle Warren

Nothing released 'Say Less', powerful, pounding shoe-gaze new single; new Flaming Lips album is made for people wanting some more of psychedelia light, but 'Assassins of Youth' is a stand-out song in any cosmos; singer-songwriter Krystle Warren made a powerful statement about the struggle for Black equality with a cover of Kermit the Frog's 'Bein’ Green'; Off The Meds may eventually take some wrong steps along the way, but for now they're playing good, slightly dark club music - 'Karlaplan'; (fellow Swedes) Dark Tranquility play what they know best on 'Phantom Days' - melodic death metal; Delta Spirit released a new album, with a happy Americana 'It Ain't Easy' as a stand-out song.

Rufus Wainwright

Jónsi shared a collaboration with Liz Fraser, and 'Cannibal' sound just like that - Sigur Ros meets Cocteau Twins; Nas is back in shape - 'Ultra Black' is sharp and entertaining and juicy; Emiliano Melis released a melodic ambient electronic tape loop composition; Black Noi$e shared a hip-hop banger '1999'; The Killers shared a disco-rock ‘Dying Breed’, with their "most romantic lyric ever"; First Aid Kit shared a cover of Willie Nelson's ‘On The Road Again’, with proceeds going to Crew Nation; GNOD & João Pais Filipe shared live video for ambient and hypnotic 'Terra'; Melvins' Buzz Osborne released acoustic-horror song 'I'm Glad I Could Help Out'; Rufus Wainwright's new song is called 'Devils & Angels (Hatred)' but it's full of life; The Flaming Lips shared their new acoustic psychedelia called 'Will You Return / When You Come Down'; Bobby Sessions dropped militant/protest rap 'Fight'; a great little thing by Paul De Jong - he wrote a poem 'This Poem Will Fade and Die', 97-year old musician and educator Catherine Luening read it, he then set it to music (piano), and made a video featuring Luening in her Manhattan apartment listening to the track for the first time.

International song affair
June 28, 2020

Best new songs today: Sam Valdez, Flaming Lips, Gordi...

Sam Valdez

Sam Valdez released her new single, a shoegaze-folk beauty 'Clean'; Flaming Lips announced their new album with big words in a laid back song 'My Religion is You'; with Mourning [A] BLKstar everything is seemingly unusual - the name and the dark gospel genre - whereas music is actually deep and warm; Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament struggles with vivid dreams and helplessness in 'The Divine Perfume'; Anteloper play modern jazz + electronica which makes for hypnotic 'Bubble Under'; Gordi's 'Sandwiches' is an elegiac love song; an impressive line-up of Tony Allen, Shabaka Hutchings, Dele Sosimi, Tamar Osborn, Miles James, Ed ‘Tenderlonious’ Cawthorne, Afla Sackey and Antibalas on Keleketla's upbeat and harmonious 'International Love Affair'.

The Flaming Lips performed on Stephen Colbert’s 'Late Show' last night, playing 'Race For The Prize' from their 1999 album 'The Soft Bulletin', while every member of the band and everybody in the audience was inside giant inflatable bubbles, a staple from the group’s live shows.

The Flaming Lips shared a brand new song 'Flowers of Neptune 6', mellow and pretty, the video features frontman Wayne Coyne in his signature plastic bubble; Canadian secretive cowboy Orville Peck released 'No Glory in the West', an outlaw-country song; Wayne Phoenix released a new video, explicit and moving 'Mood'; Ghanaian Afro-dancehall and reggae star Stonebwoy released 'Le Gba Gbe (Alive)' - a song all about positivity.

The Quietus made a selection of best psychedelic rock for the month of July. It's quite a rich month: there's Sicilian outfit  Uzeda's new album recorded by Steve Albini; Some Became Hollow Tubes - with members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and thisquietarmy - is something of a masterclass in drums/guitar/FX/synth improvisation; Nebula are back […]

It's titled 'Giant Baby' and it it is a kind of a lullaby, slightly psychedelic. It's mostly Wayne Coyne singing with an acoustic guitar in the background. A nice song actually, not that weird at all, it features The Clash guitarist Mick Jones, narrating a story about a - giant boy. Listen to it below. […]

The Flaming Lips have launched a new podcast that offers fans the chance to listen to a “song by song” history of the band. Episode one of the new series, titled ‘Socerer’s Orphan’, is available now. The podcast is presented by multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd and the first episode sees the musician talk about ‘Enthusiasm for […]