Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

My friends and I have a mutual understand concerning music: they don’t recommend music to me and I don’t force my music on them. Against my better judgment, I took the advice of a friend who suggested I listen to Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.
I wouldn’t say I was altogether impressed by what I heard, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
Pink Robots is the tenth album produced by The Flaming Lips. You can hear the electric-psychedelic influences in every song. The album is a weird step toward alternative music while simultaneously being held up in a past full of peace, love, and just the right amount of LSD. The effect is really quite satisfying and I’m sure anyone with a head full of acid could find this album to be a revelation.
However, not being an LSD user myself, I can’t get by some of the weaker points of the album. The vocals on most of the songs are less than satisfying and after a few listens the bass lines and drum parts seem to become eerily similar.
Not knowing what to expect from The Flaming Lips, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are still musicians and not completely dependent on synths. While a large portion of their songs are synthed, the Lips, I’m sure, could hold their own with out them. But as with the bass and drum parts, much of the guitar from song to song becomes similar.
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots has an incredibly unique sound. It’s not everyday that you hear albums with as much going on as this. It really takes more than one listen to hear all that’s going on in this album. There are a plethora of odd sounds and irregular beats that fill the empty spaces of the album. It would seem that a lot of time went into creating these effects for the album to round out the sound.
Acoustic guitar fills most songs with synth bass lines and offbeat drums. Once again, the effect is satisfying to the point of being confusing. While it usually takes a masterful solo to get my attention, I was content with the sounds produced on this album.
Being a theme loving guy, I did enjoy that the album wasn’t a hodgepodge of songs but rather followed a storyline, albeit a strange one.
But as I said, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robot is certainly not a disappointment and for alternative or psychedelic rock fans, it is time well spent.