There aren't too many freaks left in rock music. Oklahoma trio The Flaming Lips have now been making a career out of the zany since 1983. A band like this could not come into being today. Their first 'hit', 'She Don't Use Jelly', arrived in 1993 and while 1999's The Soft Bulletin garnered immense critical acclaim, it only really began to shift units when Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots found itself as one of the best albums of 2002.

TV commercials, crazy cover versions ('Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'War Pigs') and crazier gigs probably gave the band as much acclaim as they wanted and on Embryonic they've returned to a more spontaneous, less organised sound. Is this fan code for an incoherent album that will alienate its noughties disciples? Quite possibly.

Conceived as a double album, Embryonic just about manages to fit on one CD and contains far too much music to hold the attention of a casual listener. Three songs feature Karen O; the Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman makes quite a few animal noises on 'I Can Be a Frog', leaving Wayne Coyne barely able to contain his laughter as he attempts to actually sing the song.

There's a fair bit of noodling elsewhere and more hidden sounds than an Animal Collective record, making this a difficult album to sum up so soon. But a bit like Silvio Berlusconi, The Flaming Lips are above judgment at this stage.

Download: 'Convinced of the Hex', 'I Can Be a Frog','If'

The Flaming Lips
Embryonic
Warner Music
(73m)
Rating: 3/5