gafa42
5
This album is a pure affirmation of joy. They first two thirds is perfection but it does tail off towards the end.
I think this might be my favorite Flaming Lips album (though Soft Bulletin and At War with the Mystics are also up there).
Cat Stevens
2nd day in a row where I get to say Love, Love, Love this album. It showcases a sense of maturity and hope in the face of despair that very few bands could pull off, let alone try to capture. Wayne may be the frontman, but Steven Drozd is definitely the key on this album with his growth in songwriting and composition. 4.5 out 5 as there are a few weak tracks, and Soft Bulletin is arguably a better album. Looking forward to my Yoshimi Deluxe box set arriving. They amount of b-sides/collaborations released during this era was amazing. One of my absolute favorites is their collab with Sparklehorse covering Daniel Johnston's "Go".
So for whatever reason, we keep getting albums I know really, really well. There's some absolute classic tunes on here, such as Fight Test, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, and Do You Realize??. There's no real weak points as everything blends together nicely even if not everything stands out above the general atmosphere of the album. I just think it's a half-step behind the Soft Bulletin and many of the other great albums of this year. If you ever look at a list of 2002 albums, that year is stacked and this album has never broken through into my top 5 of the year. But that ain't half bad for sure.
favs: Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon, Fight Test worst: In the Morning of the Magicians
Yoshimi is the sweet spot between the reserved Soft Bulletin and the utter batshit crazy of the rest of The Flaming Lips catalog. It had an amazing structure and some of their strongest songs. Nature versus machine being told against a backdrop of audible maturity and pure creativity. It’s all pretty much perfect.