The Claypool Lennon Delirium are back with “Meat Machines,” and it’s the kind of song that immediately feels uneasy in the best way. The new single comes from their upcoming album The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy, and it pushes even deeper into the strange, paranoid world Les Claypool and Sean Ono Lennon have been building around this record.

“Meat Machines” sounds dark, twitchy and a little claustrophobic. It has that off-balance psychedelic-prog feel the duo does so well, but this one lands with a sharper purpose. Underneath all the weirdness, the song is clearly wrestling with bigger ideas about artificial intelligence, control and whether people are slowly giving up what makes them human. It is not subtle, but that works in its favor. The song feels like it wants to make you uncomfortable.

“Meat Machines” taps into a fear that feels especially current, the idea that human beings are starting to be viewed as replaceable, programmable and less valuable than the systems being built around them. Instead of treating that like a distant sci-fi concept, the band makes it feel personal and immediate. That is what gives the track its edge. The release also comes with a new visualizer that adds another piece to the album’s larger comic-book-inspired world.