The Flaming Lips Explode With The First Single From "Terror"

Non-stop energy greets anyone sampling the first single from venerable Oklahoma City band The Flaming Lips new project "The Terror". As this fivesome demonstrated on their alt-rock classic "She Don't Use Jelly" peddling oddball confections to the masses isn't exactly foreign turf to them. "Sun Blows Up Today" is an exercise in how much sweat the band can coax out of their pores before they collapse in a collective dead faint because, rather than respect their limits, they blasted right past  the clearly marked barricades. Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, and Derek Brown represent the Hydra like monster cranking out the juicy riffs that keep this track pushing along at a cruising speed beyond reasonable limits. Wayne's vocals mirror the lightness of spirit found in lyrics such as: "Run to outer space. See your smiling face. Everywhere it's all together on this epic day." Especially now, during a period where smiling faces appear to be in short supply, Wayne's unmasked giddiness is a real asset, not to mention a break from the onslaught of bad news that much of the time appears unyielding. Steven doesn't bang out the mission statement of the song much as he guides his fellow minstrels along with the steadiness of a parent who knows of the imminent dangers lurking on the outside but doesn't want his charge to be unduly intimidated by it because there's good mixed in with all that evil. Michael Ivins cranks up his bass until it spins defiantly, daring you to tell it to keep that damned noise down. It's this noise which serves is the devil may care epicenter without which "Sun" wouldn't shine with quite the same can't take your ears off of it attitude. Although it isn't an official part of the album proper, this bonus cut struts its stuff as if it was. "The Terror" ought to be an unholy terror on the album charts with this song figuring into the package. It's about limitlessness. Limitlessness never wears out its welcome because the songsters who respect it and strive to fully realize its potential are worthy of all the respect we can give them.