Today the Flaming Lips find themselves navigating something of a quarrel with stability, so it’s reassuring to flip back to a moment when the band appeared more settled. Anniversary reissues serve that function nicely. When they released their 2006 record At War With The Mystics, the Lips had long since become a psych-rock institution and an unlikely magnet on the road. Their prior album, 2002’s Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, represented the biggest achievement of their career and, for many, still stands as their quintessential record. In response to that peak, the group pushed further into oddity and experimentation.
At War With The Mystics may not have produced a hit on the scale of “Do You Realize??,” yet its playful flirtations with new wave textures and offbeat disco kept a certain allure. Just as they revisited Yoshimi years earlier, the Lips have announced a sprawling 20th-anniversary deluxe box edition of At War With The Mystics, assembled across six discs with rarities and unheard material. The collection spans demos, B-sides, remixes, several complete live performances, and non-album tracks, including handfuls written for film and documentary use. And for the first time, their cinematic contributions to works like Spider-Man 3 and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium are gathered in one place! Below, you can hear two previously unreleased demos tied to the album’s track “The Sound Of Failure.”
At War With The Mystics (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is out 11/13 on Rhino. You can pre-order it here and investigate the details of what all is on the six CDs here.
