Oklahoma's Flaming Lips have been critics favourites ever since Westlife were in nappies but only now are they making the move from weirdo cult act to a band with a measure of mainstream popularity. Their new album should do that process no harm at all, a beautifully eerie collection of songs about mortality that's quite possibly their best work to date. It starts with an obligatory wacky sci-fi concept (a killer robot falls in love with Yoshimi, his intended victim) but thankfully this is soon ditched in favour of more adult pleasures. Wayne Coyne's melancholic songs are simple to the point of being childlike - but they're given an air of strangeness by being performed in an electro-pop style described by Coyne as "storytelling acid rock". What this means in practice is a fascinating melange of music styles, incorporating folky acoustic guitars, acid house keyboards and stuttering R'n'B drum patterns, all topped by Coyne's quivering vocals and plainspoken lyrics. Even though it makes your head spin occasionally, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots packs a strong emotional punch and, at times, deeply moving and at others strangely uplifting. Strongly recommended.
