The Claypool Lennon Delirium Unveil New Concept Album, ‘The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy’
The Claypool Lennon Delirium, photo by Jay Blakesberg
The Claypool Lennon Delirium have returned to herald their third studio album, The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy. Set to release on May 1 via ATO Records, the leftfield psychedelic duo of Les Claypool and Sean Ono Lennon’s first full-length release since 2019’s South of Reality is hailed as their most bizarre offering yet, passing the high bar of their earlier output with a sprawling narrative world of AI-powered optimization without conscience. To preview the project, they’ve shared the second single, “The Golden Egg of Empathy,” featuring WILLOW and paired with an animated music video.
“The Golden Egg of Empathy” is a space-funk fever dream anchored in sludgy bass slaps, softly rollicking guitar and trance-inducing vocoder babble. It’s a far cry from the hazy, hallucinatory experimental psych-pop of the lead single “WAP (What a Predicament),” and a demonstration of the omnivorous sonic palate and general appetite for destruction to be expected across the project. Beyond the 14-song tracklist, the story unfolds in a 24-page comic book accompanying a double-LP gatefold vinyl pressing.
“The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy is a cautionary tale of what could be in store for humanity if we continue to favor machines over men,” Lennon expounded on the story in a release. “It is a tale of a technocracy eclipsed by paperclips; a young man destined to unravel the fabric of his father’s folly, and a sacred feathered Goddess (played by WILLOW), who holds the egg-shaped key to their future.”
“The Great Parrot Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy was over three years in the making and was the most labor-intensive recording I have ever been involved in,” said Claypool of the album and accompanying story world built through sessions at his Rancho Relaxo studio in Sonoma County and Lennon’s The Farm in upstate New York. “The results are something Shiner and I are very proud of; a relevant concept piece accompanied by a colorful, phantasmic comic book.”
The Claypool Lennon Delirium will take their outsider sound on the road this summer with the Claypool Gold tour, sharing the stage simultaneously with Claypool’s other beloved outfits, Primus and the Fearless Frog Brigade, on an unprecedented tour. From May 20 to July 4, the bassist and bandleader will lead his storied ensembles on a 30-stop trek across the country, promising a “mind-melting musical experience” and “fluid show featuring wildly different setlists and surprises.”
The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy is available to pre-order and pre-save now. Watch the music video for “The Golden Egg of Empathy” below, and read on for the full tracklist.
The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy – The Claypool Lennon Delirium:
1. Pro-Log
2. WAP (What a Predicament)
3. The Wake Up Call
4. Meat Machines
5. Troll Bait
6. Simplest of Deeds
7. Heart of Chrome
8. Through the Horizon
9. Mantra of the Manatee
10. The Golden Egg of Empathy feat. WILLOW
11. Cliptopia
12. Cliptron Scuttle
13. Melody of Entropy
14. It’s a Wrap
