The Soft Bulletin - The Flaming Lips
The Soft Bulletin Image
Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 21 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 69 Ratings

  • Summary: The Dave Fridmann-produced 'Soft Bulletin' is considered by many fans and critics to be the band's finest album, and found its way onto quite a few Best of 1999 lists.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. 100
    This is one of those albums people are going to obsess over for many years to come.
  2. The Soft Bulletin provides an exquisite soundtrack to have blasting in the car at night.
  3. A very good slice of experimental pop.
  4. Another baffling, winning, neopsychedelic recording.

See all 21 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 44
  2. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. 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. Expand
  2. Calling music 'psychedelic' presents loaded images involving gentlemen from the 1960's in paisley giving all manner of waffle on vinyl before, after, and during the taking of enormous quantities of high quality hallucinogenics. The very heart of this record is nothing to do with drugs, pills, and potions. It's a deeply human album, the vocals surrounded by a wealth of sounds that tie everything together. The gentle waves of Sleeping on the Roof, the simple instrumentation accompanying the plaintive Waitin' for a Superman, the wonderfully absurd The Gash, and then there's Race for the Prize, the best opening drum statement of any song bar Like A Rolling Stone.

    Despite being a contrary swine, this album will never leave my Top 10 and may well be my favourite album ever. A masterpiece of both songwriting and sonic invention.
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  3. TomP.
    8
    Honestly, after hearing (and loving) Yohimi Battles the Pink Robots I was somewhat dissappointed with this album. Don't get me wrong, it's still great, but I just thought it severely paled in comparisson. For one, it's pretty front loaded. (The Spark That Bled being in my opinion the cd's best.) and after What Is the Light? the tracks just seem to grow old, listening to his voice send out the same emotions one song after another, still good, just sorta boring. And for one final thing, did we really need a waitin' for a Superman remix? The orginal wasn't that good in the first place...But with all my complaints, after comparing it to the kind of garbage the average person listens to now, it's a masterpiece. So i give it an even 8. Ah well. Expand
  4. 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. Expand

See all 44 User Reviews