The Flaming Lips announce 'The Soft Bulletin' 20th anniversary tour

The Flaming Lips are set to make their long-awaited return to Australia later this year, bringing the 20th anniversary celebrations of their 1999 album, The Soft Bulletin, to our shores.

Back in 1999, fans were wondering what the future held for The Flaming Lips. Having hit the alternative mainstream with Transmissions From The Satellite Heart in 1993, while 1995’s Clouds Taste Metallic was something of a failure amongst critics, but beloved in fan circles.

Following 1997’s ambitious recording experiment Zaireeka, few thought The Flaming Lips had enough motivation to keep their guitar-heavy compositions chugging along. Instead, the group decided to undertake a complete change in direction, crafting the exquisite The Soft Bulletin.

Released in May of 1999, The Soft Bulletin was a critical phenomenon, going on to be considered one of the finest records of the year and decade, and even garnering a very rare 10/10 from Pitchfork.

As it turned out, this was the first step in an ongoing period of critical and commercial success for The Flaming Lips, turning these Oklahoma rockers into one of the finest bands on the scene.

Now, more than two decades later, The Flaming Lips are set to bring the album to Australia, performing The Soft Bulletin in full during a run of tour dates later this year.

Touring the country for the first time since 2016, The Flaming Lips’ Aussie tour will see the group performing a pair of two-night residences at the Sydney Opera House, and Melbourne’s Hamer Hall, with the latter taking place as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival.

“These evenings are the kind of thing music programmers like me can usually only dream of,” Ben Marshall, Sydney Opera House’s Head of Contemporary Music, explains.

“Considered its era’s Pet Sounds, 20 years ago Oklahoma’s most fearless freaks The Flaming Lips created their masterpiece album, The Soft Bulletin, channeling all their potent sci-fi fetishism and weird psych-rock incandescence into a tightly focused, holistic concept record that was not only sonically brilliant but stunningly accessible and uplifting.”

Tickets to these shows go on sale from 9am AEST on Friday, June 7th. Heads-up show, these tickets will sell fast, so be sure to set your clocks early, log on, and race for that prize…