The Oklahoma rock band The Flaming Lips have announced the release date of their 15th full-length studio album, King’s Mouth. The album will be released as a special issue on Record Store Day, April 13th.
Under the Warner Bros. Records label, the album will be released as a 12” colored vinyl and will be limited to only 4,000 copies. The record will be pressed on solid gold vinyl and will be the only version of its kind available at participating independent record stores. Another version of the album will be available to the public in July, so fans won’t have to wait too long if they can’t receive this special edition.
“The King’s Mouth immersive/child-like qualities are born from the same spark and womb as The Flaming Lips live performances,” said frontman Wayne Coyne when describing the vision for the new album. “The King’s Mouth adventure was made for humans of all sizes, ages, cultures, and religions.”
King’s Mouth will be the follow up to the band’s 2017 album Oczy Mlody, described as being “ a reflection of the current zeitgeist, with a finger on the pulse of an America that increasingly feels like it’s in the depths of a bad shroom trip.”
These 12-track unreleased originals are all tied together through narration from The Clash Mick Jones; adding on, the music corresponds with Coyne’s immersive art installation of the same name. The art installation was introduced in 2015 and features many psychedelic visuals and soundscapes. It has been described as “s true handcrafted marvel, it consists of a giant metallic head that welcomes spectators inside. Once inside of the foam month, an LED lightshow begins in tandem with music from the album.” It has been featured in museums all across North America, such as Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, and Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland.
If fans want to keep up with the group and track their other interests, they participate in an ongoing podcast entitled The Sorcerer’s Orphan: A Song by Song History of The Flaming Lips. They are currently on Episode 5 called “She Don’t Use Jelly.” It’d been interesting to see if they’ll explore the history of creating tracks off this upcoming album.
Photo taken by Mauricio Alvarado