The Claypool Lennon Delirium announce new concept album (new single & exclusive vinyl)

The Claypool Lennon Delirium, the project of Les Claypool of Primus and Sean Ono Lennon, have announced their third album. The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy is due out on May 1 via ATO. It’s a concept album that, according to a press release, reflects “on morality, mortality, and the warnings of A.I., with a story-world that doubles as a cautionary tale about sustainability and the slippery slope of optimization without empathy.” See the cover art and tracklist below.

We have an exclusive “Yellow Jacket” 2LP vinyl variant, limited to 500 copies. It comes with a 24-page comic book by longtime collaborator Rich Ragsdale, and it’s available for pre-order in the BV shop.

“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,” Claypool says. “The results are something Shiner and I are very proud of; a relevant concept piece accompanied by a colorful, phantasmic comic book.”

The album “is a cautionary tale of what could be in store for humanity if we continue to favor machines over men,” Lennon adds. “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.”

Here’s more on the backstory from the press release:

Set in the once-glorious land of Cliptopia, where a sentient A.I. known as Cliptron and his army of robots are resourcing everything, then turning it all into Clipnex brand paperclips, the album follows young artist Hippard O. Campus Jr. as he rebels against his father, Hippard Sr. (owner of the CLIPNEX corporation and creator of CLIPTRON). With help from salty sea-dog Colonel O’Coren, Hipp embarks on a fantastical adventure to stop Cliptron’s cold, chrome heart from converting the world, humans included, into paperclips.

Hipp’s quest leads across the sea to the Isle of Lucidity, where the all-wise Ministry of Manatees guide him to the Great Parrot-Ox, whose Golden Egg of Empathy is the only thing that can bring understanding and emotion to Cliptron.

The album includes January single “WAP” (which stands for “What a Predicament” and is not a cover of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2020 track), and they’ve shared a new single, “The Golden Egg of Empathy,” which features WILLOW. Watch the video, with art from Ragsdale, below.

The Claypool Lennon Delirium will be on tour with two of Claypool’s other projects, Primus and Les Claypool’s Flying Frog Brigade, from May through July, including an Asbury Park show on June 13 at Stone Pony Summer Stage. See all dates below.

THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM – THE GREAT PARROT-OX AND THE GOLDEN EGG OF EMPATHY TRACKLIST
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

PRIMUS / THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM / LES CLAYPOOL’S FEARLESS FLYING FROG BRIGADE: 2026 TOUR DATES
Wednesday, May 20 – Reno Events Center – Reno, NV
Friday, May 22 – Hayden Homes Amphitheater – Bend, OR
Saturday, May 23 – Marymoor Live – Redmond, WA
Monday, May 25 – KettleHouse Amphitheater – Bonner, MT
Tuesday, May 26 – The Lot at the Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
Thursday, May 28 – Starlight Amphitheatre – Kansas City, MO
Saturday, May 30 – The Factory – St. Louis, MO
Sunday, May 31 – Meadow Brook Amphitheatre – Rochester Hills, MI
Tuesday, June 2 – Jacobs Pavilion – Cleveland, OH
Wednesday, June 3 – Salt Shed – Chicago, IL
Friday, June 5 – The Caverns Outdoor Amphitheater – Pelham, TN
Saturday, June 6 – KEMBA Live! Outdoor – Columbus, OH
Tuesday, June 9 – Thompson’s Point – Portland, ME
Wednesday, June 10 – Leader Bank Pavilion – Boston, MA
Friday, June 12 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga Springs, NY
Saturday, June 13 – Stone Pony Summerstage – Asbury Park, NJ
Sunday, June 14 – All Good Now Festival – Columbia, MD
Tuesday, June 16 – The AMP Ballantyne – Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, June 17 – Firefly Distillery – North Charleston, SC
Friday, June 19 – St. Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, FL
Saturday, June 20 – Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park – Atlanta, GA
Monday, June 22 – Walmart AMP – Rogers, AR
Tuesday, June 23 – ACL Live at Moody Theatre – Austin, TX
Thursday, June 25 – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory – Irving, TX
Saturday, June 27 – Dillon Amphitheater – Dillon, CO
Sunday, June 28 – Dillon Amphitheater – Dillon, CO
Tuesday, June 30 – Arizona Financial Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
Wednesday, July 1 – Gallagher Square – San Diego, CA
Friday, July 3 – Long Beach Amphitheater – Long Beach, CA
Saturday, July 4 – Meritage Resort & Spa – Napa, CA