Flying Lotus is one of the most respected artists in his field, and we aren’t here to disagree with any of the praise he reaps: records like 2010’s ‘Cosmogramma’ and 2014’s ‘You’re Dead!’ pushed the boundaries for psychedelic electronica in a manner that truly boggles the mind, and they did so while still managing to earn themselves commercial success as well. Last year’s ‘Spirit Box’ EP was a release that crumbled under the weight of expectations, delivering some of Bingley-Ellison’s most dry and cookie-cutters material to date. A year later, ‘BIG MAMA’ sees the producer sounding more like himself again, at least in terms of style— at only thirteen minutes in length, this new EP is far from a return to form for Flying Lotus.

The brightly-coloured artwork and humorous title Bingley-Ellison has slapped onto his new project are an indication of his intentions here: ‘BIG MAMA’ is clearly not intended to sit alongside the producer’s best work, but is rather a cheery excursion that distances itself from the rest of Flying Lotus’ catalogue. The EP does draw from the jazz-fuelled electronica of previous projects, sure, but this is a return to the likes of ‘Los Angeles’ in name only— where his most celebrated albums were packed with thought-provoking soundscapes, weighty themes and rich textures, this 2026 release is far more cut-and-dry in its presentation. It should go without saying that anything released under the Flying Lotus moniker will be well-produced, and the bubbly sonic adventures of ‘BIG MAMA’ are no exception. What the EP is lacking is the mystery and the majesty that put Bingley-Ellison on the map: his work has never been so easily dissected as this.

At only thirteen minutes in length, the record is forced to make a sacrifice of cohesion for the sake of diversity— Flying Lotus has always stuffed a variety of sounds and ideas into his music, and ‘BIG MAMA’ certainly follows suit. The busy synth arpeggios and drum loops of the title track slam into the cinematic intro that greets you during ‘CAPTAIN KERNEL,’ only for the cut to end up throwing dance rhythms and bright melodic bites at you: we’re only three minutes in, and already the EP has lost us. An album like ‘Cosmogramma’ hardly relied on standard song structures and linear progressions, but it still managed to work in an ebb-and-flow that kept the project grounded in some larger artistic vision (however unconventional and abstract it may have been). On ‘BIG MAMA,’ the approach is scattershot at best and entirely absent at worst— Bingley-Ellison just keeps throwing sh*t at the wall, and it ain’t sticking. 

When you take a step back once this frenetic listen has concluded, you have to question why an EP this straightforward would waste its time on sinister atmospheric moments (as we see on ‘HORSE DUKE’ and ‘PINK DREAM’) that go nowhere— similarly, one has to wonder what purpose the piano embellishments on ‘BROBOBASHER’ serve, or what emotion the panned chords that close out ‘ANTELOPE ONIGIRI’ were meant to convey. ‘BIG MAMA’ is packed with illusions to the elements and ideas of Flying Lotus’ past, but it can’t seem to commit to any kind of lane: it’s too frenetic and musically complex to be a fun dance excursion, but also too obvious and goofy to hold Bingley-Ellison’s diehard fans’ attention. Where last year’s ‘Spirit Box’ EP was an uninspired concept that received a bucketload of polish in post, this is a return to progressive electronica without much heart or thought behind it. At a certain point, all those jazzy lead lines and bizarre sound inclusions begin to border on noise.

Truth be told, the vast majority of ‘BIG MAMA’ sounds alright in isolation, so long as you find its crisp synth tones to be endearing rather than irritating: any one of these disparate ideas could’ve be spun off into a promising record, but the issue is that none of them have any room to breathe as part of these seven tracks. The electronic chaos that becomes almost industrial on ‘ANTELOPE ONIGIRI’ is an interesting change of pace from a producer once known for his more naturalistic soundscapes, and it’s a sound that ‘BROBOBASHER’ attempts to run with (even if the cut ends up falling on its face by the end). It’s only ‘IN THE FOREST - DAY’ that’s allowed room to actually develop a theme, taking a full two-minutes to build the most intricate and evocative mood piece of the entire EP: ‘CAPTAIN KERNEL’ and ‘HORSE NUKE’ have their moments, but they ultimately end up being buried by Bingley-Ellison’s own restlessness. These cuts, like ‘BIG MAMA’ as a whole, seem doomed to be forgotten.

Last year, we put forward that ‘Spirit Box’ felt like a stop-gap release, tiding fans over until Flying Lotus’ triumphant return— now, having heard what would come after, we’re not so sure that’s the case. One of the industry’s most talented producers seems directionless, unwilling to try and recapture the magic of ‘You’re Dead!’ yet unable to find another path to walk. Perhaps Bingley-Ellison needs to take some time away to really figure out what music he wants to make: we’re certain he has another classic in him, and we know he can make something more definitive than this.