1. Jcelsius

   10

   This album is an overlooked masterpiece. It has the sort of kookiness the Flaming Lips can boast about while mixing in deeper, more melodic songs. "Mr. Ambulance driver" is a fantastically emotional song while "W.A.N.D." is an electric anthem of empowerment. The opening track is odd, but completely wonderful. There's a lot of atmosphere on this album and some people might find the lulls unpleasant, but when looked at as a whole and not just a collection of songs it's hard not to reflect on the beauty of it all.… Expand

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2. Vampire25

   8

   At War With The Mystics is no Yoshimi, But it is a very good album. It's a little more rock orientated than Yoshimi. The guitars get pretty loud, and Wayne's voice soars high. Wayne's voice sounded so smooth in this album. It was just clear and perfect. The "Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" is one of The Flaming Lip's best song. "The W.A.N.D", "Goin' On" and "Mr. Ambulance Driver" are all great tracks. All In All, At War With The Mystics doesn't top the sheer brilliant masterpiece Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, but it is still a very damn good album. B+… Expand

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3. GuyH

   7

   Nowhere near their best but still a decent album. There are signs of a welcome return to the more expansive sound of The Soft Bulletin (Sound of Failure, the end of It Overtakes Me). A couple of absolute duds (Free Radicals, Haven't Got A Clue) and a bit of fodder (Ambulance Driver, Goin' On) bring the rating down.… Expand

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4. Tom

   4

   All over the place - in a bad way. I remember reading that Wayne said the band was "getting back to their roots" or something like that before the album came out and that's always a worrisome thing - whenever bands seem to feel the need to "get back to roots" it usually means they're lost, and that's what this album sounds like, a band lost with no idea where to go. Sure, there are some good songs here, but there are an unfortunate number of go-nowhere songs that drag down the forward progression. Even more unfortunately, superior material is to be found in the outtakes of this album on singles and now on the 5.1 reissue - yes, it's actually worth buying to get those tracks in one place. Mystics was definitely my biggest disappointment of the year.… Expand

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