THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM – The Great Parrot-Ox and The Golden Egg of Empathy (2026, 2LP/CD, ATO Records) 

RELEASE INFO:

Label: ATO Records

Format: 2LP, Album, Limited Edition,  Clear w/ Green and Gold Splatter Vinyl (housed in a foil-stamped/tip-on gatefold jacket with a 24-page comic book)

Format: 2LP, Album, Limited Edition, Standard Green Vinyl (housed in a foil-stamped/tip-on gatefold jacket with a 24-page comic book)

Format: CD, Album, Standard CD Edition (comes with 7” x 7” 24-page comic book by Rich Ragsdale)

Release Date: 1 May 2026

When two of modern psychedelia’s most adventurous minds joined forces in 2015, the result was never going to be ordinary. On one side stood Les Claypool, the eccentric bass wizard and mastermind behind Primus, a musician who has spent decades bending rock music into strange and unpredictable shapes. On the other stood Sean Ono Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, but more importantly a gifted songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and psychedelic explorer in his own right through projects such as The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger. Following a successful tour that brought their respective bands together, the pair decided to merge their creative universes under the banner of The Claypool Lennon Delirium.

From the very beginning, the project embraced the weird, the whimsical and the wonderfully surreal. Their debut album, “Monolith of Phobos” (2016), introduced listeners to a kaleidoscopic world of progressive rock, psychedelia, science fiction and absurdist storytelling. This was followed by the “Lime and Limpid Green” EP (2017) and the acclaimed sophomore album “South of Reality” (2019), which expanded the duo’s sonic palette even further, drawing from classic psychedelia, progressive rock, folk, baroque pop and experimental music while retaining their uniquely playful spirit.

Now, after several years of relative silence, The Claypool Lennon Delirium return with what may be their most ambitious creation yet: “The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy”. Conceived as a fourteen-song conceptual journey, the album plunges headlong into questions of morality, mortality, artificial intelligence, environmental responsibility and humanity’s increasingly complicated relationship with technology. Wrapped inside a fantastical narrative populated by bizarre creatures and allegorical imagery, the record functions both as psychedelic entertainment and as a cautionary tale for an age increasingly driven by optimization, efficiency and algorithms at the expense of empathy.

Musically, the album promises exactly what devotees of the duo have come to expect: a dazzling collision of progressive rock complexity, psychedelic invention, quirky pop sensibilities and fearless experimentation. Yet beneath the eccentric characters and surreal imagery lies something deeper – a reflection on what it means to remain human in a rapidly changing world…

“The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy” contains 14 songs placed among the 4 sides of the double LP album. The opener “Pro-Log” is a brief theatrical curtain-raiser that introduces the album’s strange conceptual universe and prepares the listener for the adventure ahead. The following “WAP (What A Predicament)” is vintage Claypool Lennon Delirium at its finest, overflowing with Beatlesque melodies, dazzling orchestration and psychedelic color, as if late ’60s Abbey Road collided with glam rock extravagance… “The Wake Up Call” is a wonderfully theatrical piece that feels like a lost scene from The Wall, transforming music into vivid imagery and pure psychedelic storytelling. One of the album’s standout moments is “Meat Machines”, Progressive Rock, Floydian atmospheres and soaring harmony vocals merge into a spectacular psychedelic anthem with unexpected AOR touches… Part Yellow Submarine, part lysergic comic book, “Troll Bait” (which opens side ‘B’) is a playful and imaginative track that balances humor, theater and mid ’70s space-prog elegance. “Simplest Of Deeds” is a delightfully bizarre plunge into late ’60s psychedelia, wrapped in eccentric vocals and a wonderfully unhinged atmosphere… “Heart Of Chrome” is another fascinating hybrid where psych-pop, progressive rock and New Wave sensibilities collide, creating a futuristic yet strangely nostalgic sound… Driven by Claypool’s thunderous bass, this cosmic excursion called “Through The Horizon” blends space rock, prog and subtle krautrock influences into a powerful late-night journey. Side ‘C’ opens with “Mantra Of The Manatee”, another chapter in the album’s surreal narrative, combining cinematic psychedelia, theatrical performances and whimsical storytelling. “The Golden Egg Of Empathy” (Feat. Willow) is funky, distorted and deeply psychedelic, with Willow adding an extra layer of personality to one of the album’s most infectious tracks… Sharp-edged and energetic, “Cliptopia” is a modern progressive rocker that successfully balances classic prog influences with contemporary psychedelic flair. “Cliptron Scuttle” is a quirky and eerie instrumental interlude where progressive experimentation ventures into unexpectedly exotic territory. “Melody Of Entropy” is a dreamy acoustic opening of side ‘D’, that gradually gives way to a haunting space-rock landscape draped in late ’70s Floydian atmospheres. The album comes to an end with “It’s A Wrap”, an epic and unpredictable finale that encapsulates everything The Claypool Lennon Delirium do best: catchy melodies, avant-garde experimentation, krautrock excursions, theatrical absurdity and cosmic psychedelia, all woven into a sprawling and highly entertaining closing statement…

Throughout its fourteen interconnected pieces, “The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy” confirms that The Claypool Lennon Delirium remain one of contemporary psychedelia’s most imaginative and fearless acts. Few contemporary acts possess the imagination, musicianship and sheer audacity of The Claypool Lennon Delirium. Equal parts progressive rock opera, psychedelic satire and surrealist adventure, the album delivers a wonderfully strange journey through a universe that could only have emerged from the combined minds of Les Claypool and Sean Ono Lennon… One of the best albums of 2026! TimeLord Michalis

Tracklist

Links

Listen / Buy through THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM Bandcamp

Visit THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM Official Web