The Flaming Lips
Hear It Is

This is what music is to my ears: garage-punk rock psychedelic noise! Back in '86, Wayne Coyne already had an exceptional melodic talent but seasoned his songs with a bit of good old guitar noise, not with cloying studio-crafted effects.
Finally The Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid: how better to describe the music of the Lips in the '80s? Finally, punk married psychedelia and began to explore the interiority of man, not just the social aspect. Wayne Coyne recounts being struck by listening to "Eight Miles High" performed by Hüsker Dü and suddenly understanding that the inner struggle is a fierce and bloody psychological battle for survival! The Flaming Lips express the concept in a more cartoony manner than the Hüskers, but appearances can be deceiving: despite the B-movie look and sometimes nonsensical lyrics, the essence of this psychedelic punk is very serious.

Musically speaking, the album is very eclectic: it alternates garage-punk with acoustic ballads, ragged blues-rock with country and psychedelia. Above all, it’s played with a simplicity and sincerity that unfortunately does not shine through in their latest records.
There are some classic Lips tracks: "With You", a prelude to what they will do in the '90s, the epic (and lengthy) "Jesus Shooting Heroin", and the moving "Godzilla Flick". My favorite is "Charlie Manson Blues", an aggressive rock number sung in a Jim Morrison style filled with comic falsetto choirs and rhythmic UH-AH-UH-AH in the background.

The Flaming Lips were truly great in the '80s, in the '90s they transitioned to a more commercial and lighthearted rock (still of very high quality) to reach the dizzying heights of "Zaireeka" in '97 and then move definitively to the mainstream pop (always classy) of "The Soft Bulletin" and "Yoshimi".
I recommend everyone to purchase the box set "Finally The Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid" which collects, in addition to "Hear It Is", their first eponymous EP and the excellent "Oh My Gawd" and "Telepathic Surgery" plus a ton of bonus tracks (the whole golden period of the Lips, in my opinion).