THE ANNOUNCEMENT
The Flaming Lips are back with album 17, and it is the first one made without Michael Ivins or Steven Drozd, the guy who shaped their sound since 1991 *, †, §. The Teardrop Throbs lands January 22 on Third Man Records, their first release for Jack White's label *. Wayne Coyne says he heard lead single "God Will Control The Werewolves" as "kind of Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon BUT Syd Barrett is still in the band.. ha.." *
THE DETAILS
- 13 tracks, opening with "Throb" and closing with the instrumental "Now I Understand," pre-orders open now *, ‡
- Produced by the band with Dave Fridmann, Taylor Johnson and Scott Booker, plus extra production from Jon and Mike Fridmann *, ‡
- Two-night residencies in 2027 at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, Irving Plaza, The Bellwether, Metro and O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire *, †, ‡
- Night one is the album in full plus a 1986 to 1999 set, night two is reimagined album versions plus 2002 to 2020 material *
- Artist pre-sale October 28, Live Nation pre-sale October 29, general on-sale October 30 at 10 a.m. local through Ticketmaster *
- Drozd said he was "officially done" after he and Coyne could not agree on a non-touring role, Coyne disputed that account publicly †
WHY IT MATTERS
COMEBACK: six years out, two founding-era members gone, and the Lips chose to rebuild rather than coast on Yoshimi nostalgia. The surprising part is the format, underplay rooms with deep cuts never played live, which is the opposite of what a band this size usually does after a long absence.
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