After 22 years, The Flaming Lips release their 1999 promo album The Soft Bulletin Companion this week, on July 16th. For over 20 years, the album was a rarity under music collectors. The album was distributed by the band’s management back in the ’90s; it was meant to accompany the band’s original album The Soft Bulletin. The album served as a promotion only and was handed out to only an extremely limited amount of people, like family, friends and some radio stations.

The Soft Bulletin Companion was also released as a Record Store Day exclusive and sold out fast. It features outtakes, B-sides, international bonus tracks. Tracks like “The Captain” and “1000 ft. Hands” never saw a real release but are now featured and available to the masses.

Along with the album announcement, the band shared some new tour dates for their world tour. The two dates are New Year’s Eve performances and will happen on December 30th and 31st 2021 at the Caverns in Pelham, TN. The group has a history of playing at Caverns. They first played at the inauguration of the venue on New Year’s Eve 2018. The Flaming Lips announced their original tour dates in May. At the beginning of the year, the band made headlines by hosting a “bubble concert.” This concert was one of a kind and was a way to handle the pandemic and still performe live in front of an audience. The Flaming Lips released their newest album, American Head, during the Pandemic in 2020.

You can check out the cover art and tracklist for The Soft Bulletin Companion below: