The Flaming Lips have set the track list for their upcoming album, “At War With the Mystics.” Due April 4 via Warner Bros., the 12-track set is led by the single “The W.A.N.D.,” which is available now from leading digital download stores.
Among the songs that made the cut for the follow-up to 2002’s “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” is “Mr. Ambulance Driver,” which first appeared on last summer’s “Wedding Crashers” soundtrack. “It is connected to some powerful stuff,” Lips leader Wayne Coyne tells Billboard.com of the track. “Every time I hear it, I think Flaming Lips fans will get it and like it. The metaphors and the ideas in the waiting for the ambulance or something to come and save you still hit me.”
Coyne previously said album opener “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” reminded him “almost [of] an MC5 thing, but it’s not talking about external things. It’s talking about the power within you. What would you do if you had the power?”
In terms of an overall sound for the project, Coyne said, “There are some tracks we’ve delved into production-wise, where we’re trying to get some of that heavy rock’n’roll with heavy guitar riffs, but not just to be aggressive. On the last couple of records, we’ve tried to be more expressive in beautiful ways. But sometimes, volume and intensity are great too.”
“At War With the Mystics” will also be available as a special edition with a bonus DVD featuring extra tracks, videos and a 5.1 audio mix. The same treatment is being afforded to the Lips’ 1999 album “The Soft Bulletin,” which will be reissued Jan. 31 via Warner Bros.
Here is the track list for “At War With the Mystics”:
“The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”
“Free Radicals”
“The Sound of Failure/It’s Dark…Is it Always This Dark??”
“My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion”
“Vein of Stars”
“The Wizard Turns On…”
“It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big, I Am So Small…Do I Stand a Chance?”
“Mr. Ambulance Driver”
“Haven’t Got a Clue”
“The W.A.N.D.”
“Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung”
“Goin’ On”
Source billboard.com.
