With their new album The Teardrop Throbs, The Flaming Lips emphatically remind us why they have been essential listening for much of the last half-century. Lush arrangements go hand in hand with exquisite production and songwriting that has been honed to its full potential over the decades.

Frontman Wayne Coyne moves effortlessly from the poignant and direct on "Every Teardrop Cried" to more melancholic and thoughtful tones on tracks like "The Trees Are Getting Their Leaves". He unfolds a musical expression with a rare breadth and richness of nuance that can take generations to develop – if it is even achieved at all.