The Terror (studio album) by The Flaming Lips

From teague 08/31/2021 18:40

Dark yet bright. Heavy yet light. Flaming Lips create the ultimate paradox with The Terror.

This is one of my favourites from them. If you thought "Embryonic" was dark, welcome to "The Terror". It sounds haunting, apocalyptic and in an odd way sort of breaks my heart. Yes, it's noisy and sometimes quite obtuse, but it feels absolutely *right*. Easily one of the top 50 of the decade.

Unlike "Embryonic", "The Terror" is by no means a difficult record. It soothes and mesmerises with its delightful mix of psychedelic rock and ambient pop, complete with waves of electronica. This is another dark and noisy record from The Flaming Lips, but it's also quite beautiful, warm and atmospheric in its own right. Don't let the lengthy track runtimes deter you either; the tracks seem to glide by and before you know it the 55 minute record is over. Perhaps their best effort since 2002's "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots".

From JulianR 03/30/2018 08:53

I remember when I was first exploring the FLips discography I didn't care much for this album (though Try To Explain has been one of my favorite songs ever since I heard it). However, I don't think I gave this album its due. Its got a really cool sound to it, with tons of synthy layers, almost shoegaze-y in some parts. Though it can get a little repetitive, it makes p for it well in overall atmosphere and ambiance. It plays almost like a loud ambient album.

75/100

The terror, is similar to, embryonic, in it's style and delivery. It's great that the band are still pushing themselves, and, the terror, is a lovely blend of ambition, noise and melody. Another strong Lips record.

From ShadowColossi 06/03/2016 11:23

It may take a little bit, but give this record a chance and it will resonate with you a little more with each listen. It's a little harsh with some of the tones, kinda sounding like static-y noise, but it's that way because Wayne Coyne is obviously taking a darker tone with this record- much of the songwriting was done after Wayne Coyne's divorce. It does get a little over-indulgent at times, especially during "You Lust" (even though I love that track, it drags on a little too long). Highlights for me are "Look... The Sun Is Rising", "Be Free, Away", "Butterfly (How Long It Takes to Die)", and "Always There, In Our Hearts"

I tried to like this album, I really did. I can appreciate the progressive and experimental elements of the material. To me it seem way overproduced and self indulgent, It just hasn't hooked me. Maybe I need to put it away for awhile.

It's decent

I love the feeling of it, some lackluster tracks though

This album has an elusive quality to it that cannot be described in words. It's not like anything else I've heard, yet it feels very familiar... love it.

From RockyRaccoon 07/09/2013 19:45

Lately, The Flaming Lips have entered a very experimental stage of their career. They’ve always been fairly experimental and odd in their music, but lately they’ve been going in a very different direction from some of their earlier albums like “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" and “The Soft Bulletin". It’s been good though, and I feel like it reaches it’s apex here on this album. There are a few moments where this album gets a little over-indulgent, on the roughly 13-minute long “You Lust", for example, but generally speaking this album is great. The songs are beautiful, dealing mostly with themes of depression and loneliness, and musically they sound that way too. Songs like “Try To Explain" and “Be Free, A Way" are so ethereal, they transport you to another place. The music is beautiful.