The psychedelic rock veterans will release The Teardrop Throbs in January, marking their first album since the departure of longtime member Steven Drozd.
The Flaming Lips have announced their first studio album in six years, The Teardrop Throbs, alongside a new single, ‘God Will Control The Werewolves’.
The 13-track album arrives on 22 January 2027 through Third Man Records, marking the Oklahoma psychedelic rock band’s first studio album for Jack White’s label.
The album follows 2020’s American Head. It also marks the band’s first studio release since founding bassist Michael Ivins departed in 2021 and longtime multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd’s exit became public in 2025.
Drozd’s departure marked a significant change after more than three decades of creative collaboration with frontman Wayne Coyne, who publicly disputed Drozd’s account of his exit. The new record also features contributions from guitarist Adam Judd Slaughter, whom Coyne credits with helping develop ‘Throb’ and ‘You’ve Got Brain Damage’.
In extensive notes accompanying the announcement, Coyne reveals that the album explores considerably darker territory than its playful lead single might suggest.
He recalls sitting in a supermarket car park with his young son asleep in the back seat, contemplating the possibility of losing a child. After misreading a Children’s Health Foundation sign as Children’s Death Foundation, he began reflecting on grief and mortality, themes that subsequently found their way into the music.
Fatherhood also inspired the album’s lead single, although from a considerably lighter perspective.
‘God Will Control The Werewolves’ began with a game of hide-and-seek involving Coyne’s sons, Bloom and Rex, who had become fascinated by werewolves after watching horror films. When Bloom asked whether the creatures might attack while they played outside beneath a full moon, Coyne reassured him that God would keep them under control.
Musically, Coyne imagined the track sounding like Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, but with founding member Syd Barrett still in the band.
The Teardrop Throbs was produced by the band alongside Taylor Johnson, Dave Fridmann and Scott Booker, with additional production from Jon Fridmann and Mike Fridmann.
The Flaming Lips will celebrate the release with two-night performances in Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and London between January and April 2027. No Australian dates have been announced as part of the initial run.
The Teardrop Throbs is available to pre-order.
Listen to ‘God Will Control The Werewolves’.
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