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The Soft Bulletin - The Flaming Lips
Metascore
85 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
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  1. Pitchfork
    100
    This is one of those albums people are going to obsess over for many years to come.
  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    100
    The Soft Bulletin provides an exquisite soundtrack to have blasting in the car at night.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    A vertiginous rainbow swirl that crams so many ideas into so many tight spaces that each track is like a perfectly rendered Joseph Cornell box.
  4. Ink Blot Magazine
    100
    Perhaps the most important album of the decade.
  5. The A.V. Club
    100
    An impossibly multi-tracked masterwork of excess, abrasion, and indefinable beauty.
  6. E! Online
    91
    Combines Beach Boys harmonies, Pink Floyd-influenced orchestral rock and the lonely-heart vocal style of such '70s icons as Big Star and Neil Young.
  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    90
    A joyous, celestial celebration of sound.
  8. All Music Guide
    90
    Not just the best album of 1999, The Soft Bulletin might be the best record of the entire decade.
  9. CDNow
    90
    The group's most gorgeously crafted album ever.
  10. Amazon.com
    90
    The Flaming Lips' particular and peculiar genius comes to full fruition on the stupendous The Soft Bulletin.
  11. Hot Press
    90
    The Flaming Lips could've been forgiven for feeling usurped when their sister ship Mercury Rev steamed away with the garlands for Deserter's Songs last December, but in truth, both collectives are in competition with no-one but themselves and the gods.
  12. Nude As The News
    85
    One of the Flaming Lips' most listenable records and another step up the ladder toward pop perfection.
  13. Almost Cool
    80
    A very good slice of experimental pop.
  14. BBC collective
    80
    Upon starting Soft Bulletin--you're instantly whisked off into the universe the Flaming Lips have created. The musical journey that ensues is nothing short of imaginary genius--simple as.
  15. Delusions of Adequacy
    80
    As if the Lips' perfect mix of pop and psychedelia wasn't enough, they write songs that are not only excellent but distinct as well.
  16. Launch.com
    80
    The Soft Bulletin is sparse and enchanted, like the band has awoken from a long dream spent spinning in outer space.
  17. Village Voice
    80
    The Lips may have been inspired by the easy-listening craze, but the seeker's quality within their music tugs against that style's instinctive cheapening of sentiment.
  18. Sonicnet
    70
    A trip into the prettiest altered states the Lips have yet kissed.
  19. Austin Chronicle
    67
    The Soft Bulletin posts several clunkers, a few throwbacks, yet manages to it finds its way into some genuinely new territory, and in its wake the Flaming Lips might just be poised to make a masterpiece.
  20. Rolling Stone
    60
    Another baffling, winning, neopsychedelic recording.
  21. Q Magazine
    40
    The Soft Bulletin echoes the oft-mimiced Smiley Smile by The Beach Boys, with its psychedelic wobbliness, songs-within-songs and airy termperament.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
9.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 41
  3. Negative: 0 out of 41
  1. SamS
    5
    Much loved by people whose judgment I respect. But it doesn't quite do it for me. I came to it after Yoshimi -- which I love in the extreme -- and this sounds flabby and maudlin by comparison.… Full Review »
  2. TatrTotz
    10
    The perfect album, and by far the magnum opus of The Flaming Lips. The Soft Bulletin is a departure from The Flaming Lips' earlier work, which was mostly lo-fi noise rock. The Soft Bulletin's songs are generally slow and soft, and explore various themes, such as love and devotion (The Spiderbite Song, for instance, is as far as I can tell about one's platonic love for another). The lyrics are clever and meaningful, and not superficial at all. In fact, I would say the overarching theme of the album is love. All in all its a beautiful album, and a must-listen-to.… Full Review »
  3. MooziikMaster
    10
    HOLY CRAP! WHAT AN ALBUM! Words cannot describe how awesome this album really is. Never heard of The Flaming Lips, start here and you too will realize their musical capabilities. One of the best albums of all time.… Full Review »
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