Flaming Lips show eccentricity on new album

So this is what the depths of your brain sound like.

The Flaming Lips’ 12th studio album, “Embryonic,” is a fluid-filled cerebral experience.

Frontman Wayne Coyne has commented on the theme of the band’s first double-album, saying he wanted freedom to jam a few distinct ideas and to create something “abstract, freaky and unfocused.” And that’s exactly what “Embryonic” is — in a good way.

Clocking in at a little more than an hour and 10 minutes, The Flaming Lips’ 18-song project is just like Coyne’s signature hairdo: swirly and inspiring. And although it might grow long at times, clipping things here and there potentially could ruin the statement.

Listeners who are merely familiar with past Lips material such as “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and “Race for the Prize” are in for an experience, as “Embryonic” is much more jumbled and experimental than their past two albums.

The record begins with the energetic “Convinced of the Hex,” where Coyne shouts “that’s the difference between us” in a three-note chorus. The song has an LCD Soundsystem, mechanical feel to it, and it’s the driest song on the album.

The sound Coyne and company create suggests the band’s sound has come full circle, taking the foundation from the “Transmissions From The Satellite Heart” album in 1993 and injecting it with pointy shots of synthesizers and electronics.

The album’s eccentricity can be on the verge of annoying, but each time things seem to turn nonmusical, structure and clarity bubble up from below.

“Evil” is a wonderful piece. With a tone resembling a score from a 1950s B movie, it slowly spirals into a galactic symphony, filled with harmonies and inspirational background vocals. It’s perhaps the most moving song on the album.

Things get interesting on “The Impulse,” which computerizes the lead vocals to the point where they sound like a melodica. They’re then tucked underneath a hallucinogenic sheet of chords and harp-plucks.

To give you a visual, it’s almost like T-Pain got trapped in a glass bottle and thrown out to sea — it’s brilliant.

Karen O (lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), who recently provided the soundtrack for the “Where The Wild Things Are” motion picture, makes two guest appearances, including the strange “I Can Be A Frog.” Here, Coyne almost burst into laughter as Karen O growls and barks along with the song’s lyrics.

There’s plenty of energy to go around, notably on “The Ego’s Last Stand,” “Watching the Planets” and “Worm Mountain,” which features a guest spot by the electronic duo MGMT.

Through its free-flowing vibe, “Embryonic” might at first resemble a squishy embryo, but upon repeated listening experiences, it becomes clear the album is far from embryonic.

Overall, the Flaming Lips’ latest album is closer to the contents of a petri dish — a very important scientific discovery.