Fans of the Flaming Lips are doubly blessed. The band's latest release, Christmas on Mars (Warner Bros., Nov. 11, 2008), is a twofold gift: an 86-minute feature film on DVD and its accompanying soundtrack on CD.

Co-directed by the Lips' front man and otherworldly visionary Wayne Coyne, Christmas On Mars plays like a sci-fi B-movie homage turned hopeful Christmas fable. Shot predominantly in black and white with the occasional burst of bright techno-colour, the ambitious project was seven years in the making, with a cast made up of band members, family, and friends/actors (Adam Goldberg, SNL's Fred Armisen, and former Blue's Clues host Steve Burns among them). Mr. Coyne himself takes a turn as a taciturn, emerald-green alien.

While injected with the odd dose of Lynchian weirdness, Christmas On Mars can be a bit of a haul, with long periods of silence illustrating the loneliness of a space station crew as it sits on a desolate rock. But hope still beckons on the horizon in the idealistic dreams of peace, joy and Christmas magic. Think of it as Eraserhead meets Frank Capra!

As for the music, I'd hoped for some familiar Flaming Lips ear candy, perhaps something leaning in the Sgt. Pepper direction, but Christmas On Mars features a lyric-free soundtrack (in fact, the only singing in the film comes courtesy of Fred Armisen's assistant electrician as he wistfully croons snippets of Christmas carols).

Instead, we get a true film score; a soundscape awash with haunting strings, gloomy synth melodies, and eerie found sounds. The vocals aren't missed. A jolting pop number would have cheapened the film's feel, turning poignant or tense moments into cheese. That being said, I remain slightly disappointed -- prior to listening, I was very curious to hear what those clever Lips fellows might have come up with, lyric-wise, for "In Excelsior Vaginalistic," or "The Gleaming Armament of Marching Genitalia".

While it's certainly a departure for the Flaming Lips, Christmas On Mars isn't so great a leap that you can't hear its influence on the band's 2002 masterpiece Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots -- one of my all time favourites -- which was recorded in tandem. And while the film is good, surreal fun, minus the music it might have fallen slightly short and ended up being what it paid tribute to: an arty B-movie. It is the painstakingly created soundtrack that sets it apart. And raises it up.

Christmas On Mars -- put it on your wish list.

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