Wastoid

Like his uncle Wayne Coyne—a forbearer of modern psych-rock who has led The Flaming Lips since 1981—Dennis Coyne seems to have lysergic blood in his veins. Yet branching out from the family tree is never easy. Perhaps embracing his lineage by working with the Lips on their sensational Pink Floyd and King Crimson cover albums helped Dennis put the whole thing in perspective: likeminded freakout freaks make great partners. This second long-player by Stardeath & White Dwarfs plays similarly to some of the Lips' best work, fanning out a neon rainbow of songs that creep, crawl, sparkle, howl, and stomp, with flavors of everyone from Pink Floyd to The Beatles and, yes, King Crimson. The title track, featuring garage rockers Chrome Pony, is a satisfyingly funky surprise, the dirgy “Birds of War” appropriately gnarled and dark, the hazy “All Your Friends” and serpentine “Frequency” cool and trippy. “The Screaming,” with the Lips on board, and “Guess I’ll Be Okay” are full-throttled excursions into the beyond, with turbulent guitar and keyboard work gurgling like liquid light-show slides and vocals wafting like paint fumes.