In 2012, The Flaming Lips invited several bands to cover King Crimson‘s 1969 debut album, giving them complete access to their Oklahoma recording studio. The line-up included New Fumes, Linear Downfall, Spaceface, and Stardeath and White Dwarfs, a band Coyne’s nephew plays in.
Playing Hide and Seek with the Ghosts of Dawn is a complete deconstruction and reinterpretation of the King Crimson original. Each cover weaves the original melodies into those of the bands and their diverse palette of sound effects.
The 21st-Century Schizoid Man is a complete psycho created by Linear Downfall. The album opens with a dense megalomania of technological and mechanical sound effects in a ‘grungy,’ crumpled sound. During the highly rhythmic sections, however, the band gives a relaxed recitation of these sections compared to the original which was executed very precisely. Aside from that, the song retains its neurotic tendencies throughout its entirety.
New Fumes depict I Talk to the Wind in a tranquil, watery atmosphere removed from the ordinary world. Calmness remains before a ‘dysfunctional,’ ‘cosmic’ solo unfurls and gradually disappears into the quiet resolve.
All five bands contribute to give the mournful Epitaph a colorful repainting free and unrestrained in sound.
