American Head

American Head
Studio album by
the Flaming Lips
ReleasedSeptember 11, 2020 (2020-09-11)
RecordedDecember 2019 – January 2020[1]
StudioTarbox Road Studios
(Cassadaga, New York)
Pink Floor Studios
(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
GenrePsychedelic rock[2]
Length50:35
Label
Producer
The Flaming Lips chronology
King's Mouth
(2019) 		American Head
(2020)
Singles from American Head
  1. "Flowers of Neptune 6"
    Released: May 29, 2020[3]
  2. "My Religion Is You"
    Released: June 26, 2020[4]
  3. "Dinosaurs on the Mountain"
    Released: July 10, 2020[5]
  4. "You n Me Sellin' Weed"
    Released: July 24, 2020[6]
  5. "Will You Return / When You Come Down"
    Released: August 14, 2020[7]
  6. "Mother Please Don't Be Sad"
    Released: August 28, 2020[8]

American Head is the sixteenth studio album by experimental rock band the Flaming Lips, released on September 11, 2020, on Warner Records in the US and Bella Union in the UK.[9] Produced by Dave Fridmann and Scott Booker, alongside the band itself, the album represents a return to the band's American roots. It is the final studio album to feature founding bass guitarist Michael Ivins[10] and keyboardist Jake Ingalls, who both departed from the band in 2021, as well as drummer Nicholas Ley who departed in 2023.[11][12] It is subsequently the final album featuring the expanded seven person line-up of the group that began with 2017's Oczy Mlody.

It received critical acclaim upon release. Its release was preceded by six singles: "Flowers of Neptune 6", "My Religion Is You", "Dinosaurs on the Mountain", "You n Me Sellin' Weed", "Will You Return / When You Come Down" and "Mother Please Don't Be Sad".

Background

On March 23, 2020, Drozd announced that the band's sixteenth studio album, titled American Head, was due for release that summer.[13] The album represents a shift in identity as the band decided to focus on their American roots on the album.[4] Many of the songs reference Wayne Coyne's turbulent upbringing with his brothers in Oklahoma City.[14] The band officially announced the album's release date as September 11, 2020, along with the single "My Religion Is You" on June 26, 2020.[4] Coyne gave a track-by-track breakdown of the album for Apple Music.[15] The album artwork contains a photograph of Coyne's older brother Tommy, taken around 1970.[16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[17]
Metacritic80/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
Consequence of SoundA−[20]
The Independent[21]
Mojo[22]
NME[23]
The Observer[24]
Paste5.8/10[14]
Pitchfork7.7/10[25]
The Times[26]
Uncut9/10[27]

American Head received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from professional publications, it received a weighted mean score of 80 based on 23 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18] Tyler Clark of Consequence of Sound gave the album an A− rating, writing, "American Head stands alongside The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots as one of the very best records the Flaming Lips have recorded".[20] Tom Pinnock of Uncut gave the album a 9 out of 10 rating, praising the band for "examining the nature of family, love, death and nostalgia with a sincerity and tenderness that's been missed".[27] Jude Rogers of Mojo praised the tracks "Mother I've Taken LSD", "Mother Please Don't Be Sad", and "Brother Eye", writing, "They suggest a place for the band's psychedelic imagination in more present, physical realms, which feels new."[22] Pitchfork gave the album a 7.7 with the summary, "At the top of their fifth decade, the Lips rekindle their past romance with Neil Young's piano ballads, the Beatles' psychedelic guitar tones, and Bowie's stargazing anthems on a deeply personal album."[25]

Year-end lists

Year-end list accolades for American Head
Publication List Rank Ref.
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020
47
[28]
Mojo The 75 Best Albums of 2020
10
[29]
Spin The 30 Best Albums of 2020
21
[30]
Uncut The Top 75 Albums of the Year
32
[31]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2020
47
[32]

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Flaming Lips[33]

American Head track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Will You Return / When You Come Down"5:20
2."Watching the Lightbugs Glow"2:53
3."Flowers of Neptune 6"4:30
4."Dinosaurs on the Mountain"3:38
5."At the Movies on Quaaludes"3:41
6."Mother I've Taken LSD"3:47
7."Brother Eye"4:23
8."You n Me Sellin' Weed"4:56
9."Mother Please Don't Be Sad"3:35
10."When We Die When We're High"3:39
11."Assassins of Youth"4:12
12."God and the Policeman" (featuring Kacey Musgraves)2:28
13."My Religion Is You"3:33
Total length:50:35

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[1]

Performance

The Flaming Lips

Other musicians

Technical

  • The Flaming Lips – production, recording, mixing
  • Dave Fridmann – production, recording, mixing, mastering
  • Scott Booker – production
  • Dennis Coyne – recording, mixing, additional production
  • Mike Fridmann – additional production

Design

  • Kenny Coyne – photography
  • George Salisbury – layout, design
  • Wayne Coyne – layout, design

Charts

Chart performance for American Head
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[34] 41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[35] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[36] 78
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[37] 64
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[38] 16
Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] 5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 28
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 17
US Billboard 200[42] 172
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[43] 25

References

  1. ^ a b American Head (liner notes). The Flaming Lips. Bella Union. 2020. BELLA1052V.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Whiting, Kyle (September 14, 2020). "The Flaming Lips' American Head is dreamy, ethereal, and extremely psychedelic". WXPN. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Martin, Josh (May 29, 2020). "The Flaming Lips share new single and video 'Flowers of Neptune 6'". NME. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Ehrlich, Brenna (26 June 2020). "The Flaming Lips Get Patriotic on New Album 'American Head,' Out This Fall". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. ^ Kohn, Daniel (July 10, 2020). "The Flaming Lips Go Back Into Their Bubbles in 'Dinosaurs on the Mountain' Video". Spin. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Tan, Emily (July 24, 2020). "The Flaming Lips Share 'You N' Me Sellin' Weed' Video". Spin. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  7. ^ Pearis, Bill (August 14, 2020). "The Flaming Lips share "Will You Return / When You Come Down" from new LP". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  8. ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (August 28, 2020). "Wayne Coyne Recalls Being Held at Gunpoint in the Flaming Lips' 'Mother Don't Be Sad'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  9. ^ "The Flaming Lips debut 'Flowers Of Neptune 6'". bellaunion.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Spaceface on Instagram: "Hey y'all: I chose to leave The Flaming Lips …". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  11. ^ thesatellitehead (6 November 2023). "Wayne Coyne reflects on Nicholas Ley joining The Flaming Lips following his departure". Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  12. ^ thesatellitehead (4 December 2022). "Wayne Coyne on Michael Ivins & Jake Ingalls leaving The Flaming Lips". Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  13. ^ Hill, Jeffrey (23 March 2020). "The Songs (and Sounds) of Space with Steven Drozd & The Flaming Lips". Via Satellite. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  14. ^ a b Schonfeld, Zach (September 9, 2020). "The Flaming Lips Revel in Patriotism and Druggy Fantasies on American Head". Paste. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "American Head by The Flaming Lips on Apple Music". Apple Music. September 11, 2020. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ @waynecoyne5 (December 11, 2022). "My oldest brother Tommy.. holding the photo ( I think from 1970) that turned into the American Head album cover image..." – via Instagram.
  17. ^ "American Head by The Flaming Lips reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  18. ^ a b "American Head by The Flaming Lips Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Phares, Heather. "American Head - The Flaming Lips". AllMusic. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  20. ^ a b Clark, Tyler (September 11, 2020). "The Flaming Lips Return to Earth on Devastatingly Beautiful American Head: Review". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  21. ^ O'Connor, Roisin; Bray, Elisa (September 10, 2020). "Album reviews: Everything Everything, The Flaming Lips, and Doves". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2020-09-10. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  22. ^ a b Rogers, Jude. "Heads, you win: The Lips' reimagined radio rock history". Mojo. No. 322 (September 2020 ed.). p. 86.
  23. ^ West, Max (September 9, 2020). "The Flaming Lips – 'American Head' review: indie-rock's space invaders crash-land back on planet Earth". NME. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  24. ^ Morris, Damien (September 13, 2020). "The Flaming Lips: American Head review – psych whimsy wears thin". The Observer. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Berman, Stuart (September 11, 2020). "The Flaming Lips: American Head Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  26. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (September 11, 2020). "The Flaming Lips: American Head review — flaming into musical Technicolor". The Times. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  27. ^ a b Pinnock, Tom. "Brainville: Lips go Americana, with added Kacey Musgraves". Uncut. No. 280 (September 2020 ed.). p. 29.
  28. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  29. ^ "The 75 Best Albums Of 2020". Mojo. No. 326. January 2021. p. 54.
  30. ^ "The 30 Best Albums of 2020". Spin. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  31. ^ "The Top 75 Albums Of The Year". Uncut. No. 284. January 2021. p. 74.
  32. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020". Under the Radar. January 15, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  33. ^ "The Flaming Lips American Head". The Flaming Lips Official Store. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  34. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Flaming Lips – American Head" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  35. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Flaming Lips – American Head" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  36. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Flaming Lips – American Head" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  37. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Flaming Lips – American Head" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  38. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Flaming Lips – American Head" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  39. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  40. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Flaming Lips – American Head". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  41. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  42. ^ "The Flaming Lips Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  43. ^ "The Flaming Lips Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.