Sean Lennon and Les Claypool: those who don’t die meet again
Seven years in the world of contemporary music is a geological era. Since 2019, the year of the release of the monumental “South of Reality”, the sound landscape has changed drastically, but the duo composed of Les Claypool (Primus) and Sean Ono Lennon – i.e. The Claypool Lennon Delirium – returns in 2026 to demonstrate that “delirium” is not just a phase: it comes out today The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathythe third studio chapter by the American duo.
Where we were
Claypool and Lennon became a duo almost by accident. The debut album, Monolith of Phobos (2016), was born during Primus’ tour with Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (Sean’s band). What was supposed to be an impromptu experiment turned out to be a perfect amalgam between Sean’s Barrettian vibes and Les’ surrealism. The “Monolith” is an exploration of the cosmos and human deviance (think “Bubbles Burst,” a bittersweet tale of the bond between Michael Jackson and his chimpanzee).
The second chapter, South of Reality (2019), shifts the needle towards a more structured and technically demanding progressive rock. Lennon takes the reins of production and plays with Mellotron and Moog synthesizers; Claypool experiments with it strumming (strums on the bass) more aggressively.
Two records that define the DNA of the couple: the ability to combine disturbing and almost “annoying” bass lines with vocal melodies of an irresistible pop sweetness; the total rejection of digital perfection; the grotesque criticism, the filter of madness to talk about real issues such as the manipulation of information, technological isolation and American decadence.
And let’s not forget, in between, Lime and Limpid Greenthe 2017 EP with which Lennon and Claypool reinterpret giants such as Pink Floyd, The Who and King Crimson.
Sometimes they come back
After seven years of silence (interrupted only by brief live forays and solo projects), the “odd couple” of psychedelic prog has orchestrated a comeback that is musical, but also philosophical. The foundations of the new album were laid during three years of sessions between Claypool’s Rancho Relaxo (California) and The Farm, Lennon’s studio (Upstate New York).
The main theme of the album is the man-machine relationship. The two drew on “Paperclip Theory” (Nick Bostrom’s AI safety thought experiment), transporting it into the absurd world of Cliptopia. A thematic choice that gives the album an immediate social relevance, transforming the psychedelic delirium into a sharp satire of modern technocracy.
Unlike previous works, the approach to this album was highly visual. Collaboration with the director and artist Rich Ragsdale led to the creation of a comic book of 24 pages included in the physical editions. The animated music videos released between February and today are not simply clips, but chapters of a coherent story that introduces the characters of Hippard O. Campus Jr. and the fearsome Cliptron. This approach from “multimedia rock opera“he raised thehypeturning the album into a collector’s item even before its release.
