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The Flaming Lips announced The Teardrop Throbs, their first studio album since 2020 and their first without longtime member Steven Drozd since 1992. The 13-track record is due Jan. 22 on Jack White’s Third Man Records, and the band released lead single “God Will Control The Werewolves.”
The Flaming Lips have announced The Teardrop Throbs, a 13-track album due Jan. 22 on Jack White’s Third Man Records. It is the Oklahoma band’s first studio album since 2020’s American Head and its first without longtime member Steven Drozd since 1992, making it a major change in the group’s lineup and record-label history.
The band released the album’s lead single, “God Will Control The Werewolves,” alongside the announcement. Songwriting credits include frontman Wayne Coyne, Matthew Kirksey, Derek Brown and Taylor Johnson. Johnson co-produced the album with Dave Fridmann and Scott Booker; Jon Fridmann and Mike Fridmann also have additional production credits, according to the report.
Coyne said the song began as a story about playing hide-and-seek at a park with his two young sons as it grew dark. He recalled that one of the children asked whether werewolves would come after them during the full moon. Coyne told the child that God would control the werewolves while they played. He described the sound he imagined as “kind of Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon BUT Syd Barrett is still in the band,” in a statement quoted by Stereogum.
The track list includes “Throb,” “Titan,” “Every Teardrop Cried” and “Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell Part Two,” a title that recalls the band’s earlier song “Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell.” The album is scheduled to contain 13 tracks. The report also lists concerts in Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and London from January through April.
A New Era Without Steven Drozd
The Teardrop Throbs is the band’s first album without Drozd in more than 30 years. He joined the Flaming Lips as a drummer in 1991 and later became a multi-instrumentalist and, alongside Coyne, a key contributor to the group’s sound. His absence makes the record a significant test of how the band’s songwriting and arrangements develop without a musician who helped shape several decades of its work.
The release also changes the group’s label home. Stereogum reports that this is the Flaming Lips’ first album on Third Man Records and their first since 1990’s In A Priest Driven Ambulance not to be released by Warner. The announcement therefore marks two distinct changes: a new label and a lineup without Drozd.
For listeners, the single offers an early indication of the album’s direction, but one track cannot establish how the full record sounds. Stereogum characterized the song as a psychedelic pop ballad, comparing its soaring strings and fuzzed guitar with elements of The Soft Bulletin. That is the publication’s description, not a statement from the band about the album as a whole.
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Drozd’s Departure and the Album Gap
The new record follows American Head, released in 2020. Drozd’s departure came in 2024, after he had been part of the band for more than three decades. The circumstances remain disputed: Coyne has said Drozd quit, while Drozd has said he was fired.
In an interview with Stereogum this year, Drozd said he entered addiction treatment and that Coyne continued band activities without him. “That was it. That was me basically being fired from the group,” Drozd said, describing how he understood the events. His account is an attributed recollection; it does not resolve the disagreement over whether he quit or was dismissed.
Drozd has been working on a solo debut album, according to the report. Meanwhile, Coyne recently performed with longtime collaborator Miley Cyrus at the Hollywood Bowl. Those developments provide context for the band’s current activity, but the announcement does not say whether Drozd will be involved in any future work with the group.
““God Will Control the Werewolves” started as a little story about my 2 boys (Bloom and Rex) and me playing hide and seek at the park as it was getting dark outside.”
— Wayne Coyne, in a statement quoted by Stereogum
Questions About the New Lineup
The announcement does not identify every musician performing on the album or explain how the band’s recording lineup changed after Drozd’s departure. It also does not provide more detail on the disagreement about whether he quit or was fired; the two accounts remain conflicting and attributed.
The source report gives the release date as Jan. 22 but does not state the year in its album listing. It also provides no information about an album preview beyond the lead single, and no further detail about the record’s overall sound. The full record’s availability, format options and any additional singles are not specified in the material provided.
Release and Tour Dates Ahead
The Teardrop Throbs is scheduled for release on Third Man Records on Jan. 22. The reported tour schedule begins with two shows at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville on Jan. 22 and 23, followed by dates in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Two London performances at O2 Shepherds Bush are listed for April 2 and 3.
The band has not announced further album details in the material provided. The next confirmed milestones are the record’s release and the listed concerts; additional information about the album’s production, contributors and promotion has not been reported here.
Key Questions
When is The Teardrop Throbs coming out?
The album is scheduled for Jan. 22 on Third Man Records. The source report does not specify the year alongside that date.
Is this the Flaming Lips’ first album without Steven Drozd?
According to Stereogum, it is the band’s first album without Drozd since 1992’s Hit To Death In The Future Head. Drozd joined the group in 1991 and later became a multi-instrumentalist and a key contributor.
What is the new album’s lead single?
The lead single is “God Will Control The Werewolves.” Coyne said its story drew on a nighttime hide-and-seek game with his sons and their conversation about werewolves during a full moon.
Why did Steven Drozd leave the band?
The accounts differ. Coyne has said Drozd quit, while Drozd told Stereogum that after he entered addiction treatment, the band continued without him and he considered himself fired. The available reporting does not settle the dispute.
Where are the Flaming Lips scheduled to play?
The reported dates include Nashville, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago in January and February, followed by two London shows in April. The list begins with Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville on Jan. 22.
Source: stereogum.com
