i have 24 days left in school, so to make the time go faster im going to post more. starting with a bunch of king gizzard reviews i made a while ago (so they all really suck, this is just for fun) starting with their singles and ep's released before 12 bar bruise, and up to murder of the universe (for now) also the ratings mean nothing because my opinions have changed and i love all of their music.
They answered my wish! Eyes like the sky is not a traditional album, it’s like a scored audiobook; written and read by Broderick Smith, scored by King Gizzard. The record tells the story of cowboys and Native Americans in the Wild West, something I love, maybe making me biased. I was a little worried that the narration would be more important than the instrumental, but it’s not. The instrumental itself stands strong. I love everything about this album so much. I love the way that the instruments follow the story. The drums imitating horses galloping and running on The Raid and Drum Run. An extremely captivating album. My only problem with it is it’s not a very great album for revisiting often. Even on my first listen it got a bit tiring by the second side. A great concept for an album with a tiring execution. Favorite songs - Drum Run
The opening riff of Head On/Pill instantly grabs your attention, taking you through a 16 minute psychedelic journey, unlike anything the band has ever done before The opening track is so stunning, especially following the bands previous albums. Float Along takes the fast and abrasive noise of 12 Bar Bruise and slows it down and reorganizes it. While still noisy, it feels more organized and constructed. The following songs continue to keep your attention, while keeping the same sort of sound. I Am Not A Man Unless I Have A Woman features Ambrose Kenny Smith on backing vocals, portraying the female character in the song. He continues backing vocals on the next track God Is Calling Me Back Home, which has repeated lyrics much like their older songs. This record simultaneously feels huge and contained. Perfect for big places or small rooms. This album makes the scores I gave their past work seem too high. The psychedelic sound is one that suits the band very well. Let Me Mend The Past is a heartfelt piano ballad sung by Kenny-Smith. It mixes the R&B/Soul sound of his other band Murlocs with the new noisy psychedelic of King Gizzard. It’s easily my favorite track by the band so far, especially from this record. I could listen to it over and over forever. Mystery Jack is yet another standout, a very catchy and fun song. Pop In My Step has the first vocal performance from guitarist/keyboardist Cook Craig. It being placed next to Mystery Jack creates a great lyrical juxtaposition. The final track/title track is a beautiful sitar filled piece. Every track on this record is a standout, it’s so hard to pick a favorite. This ones on a whole other level from everything before, it makes all of their ratings go down in comparison. My only complaint about the record is the mixing. Favorite songs - Head On/Pill, Let Me Mend The Past, Mystery Jack, Pop In My Step
This album is some songs that were left over that didn’t fit their first 3 albums. It feels like chaotic chill. There isn’t much to say about the album. It’s just a solid listen all the way through. It feels like a refreshing breath of fresh air. Alludq Majaka is immediately fun. Stressin’ is their most chill song so far. Vegemite returns to the noisiness of their previous works, but still feels a bit cleaner. It’s Got Old is extremely catchy and fun. Work This Time is another songwriting high point in their discography so far. It’s the first vocal performance from guitarist Joey Walker, an emotional love ballad. I feel like the poor mixing and production compliment the track very well. ABABCD is a big jump in tone from the track before, it startles me. It’s also the shorter song by them at 17 seconds. Sleepwalker returns to the vibe of tracks 2 and 4. I’d love a whole album with this kinda bluesy-but-not-country-but-not-pop-rock-but-not feeling. Hot Wax has a great energy and vocal performance showing the feeling of drug-induced hallucinations. I absolutely adore Kenny-Smiths backing vocals on the track. Crying and Pipe-Dream are actually tracks by Stu Mackenzie and Cook Craigs older band Revolver and Son. I love the guitar on Homeless Man In Adidas. It’s a very soothing song. The title track is like a part 2 to ABABCD. At a whopping 25 seconds it’s a great addition to the track before to wrap up the album. I know a lot of peoples complaints about the album is the inconsistency in sound, however I love that part of it. I think the bouncing between styles-style fits the band very well. It’s such an enjoyable listen that makes me excited for the rest of the bands music. Favorite songs- all of them plus hot wax
Psychedelic garage rock returns with more emphasis on psychedelic. Just the opening I’m In Your Mind-I’m Not In Your Mind-Cellophane-I’m In Your Mind Fuzz suite is one of the best things they’ve made so far. The guitars are so catchy. This album continues to make my rating of every album before lower. The songwriting on this record shows a lot of improvement, it’s almost shocking to listen to each track continuously have great and complete lyrics. I love the flute riff on Hot Water. Am I In Heaven talks about the environment and Stu’s fears of it being destroyed. He claims he won’t speak on it again. Both slow jams, and even Satan Speeds Up on this album show a more relaxed and chilled out side of the band than we’ve seen before, aside from a few tracks on Oddments. The whole record is non-stop catchy and great songs and it’s easily the best project by the band so far. The first really really really good Gizzard album where it’s so hard to pick favorites, however I cannot express how much I adore Her and I (Slow Jam 2), the 8 minute chilled out love jam is a new high point for the band. When the chorus hits after the jammy bridge I can’t help but feel overjoyed. This whole project shows how much the band can improve in such a short period of time and it shows a lot of potential for the band. Keep in mind it’s only been 4 years since the band formed, and 2 since their first full length. Favorite songs- Her and I (Slow Jam 2)
Quarters! is made up of four 10:10 songs, each consisting of psychedelic jazz fusion. Part of the reason for this record being made was that Stu McKenzie didn’t feel like yelling for a while. It’s a great album to relax and float away to. It’s so atmospheric and fun. Without the slow jams on the last record, this one would feel so out of place their discography. It really shows their great flexibility and growth as a band, and as individual musicians. The bands genre flexibility still doesn’t feel like a gimmick, just ambition. I don’t really have much to say about the record, just go listen to it and relax. Favorite song - God Is In The Rhythm
Another chill Gizzard album, recorded on Stu Mckenzie’s parents farm. Full of “acoustic guitars, flute, double bass, fiddle, harmonica, drum kit, clarinet”, making this their first fully acoustic album. This one also has no consistent concept or theme lyrically or structurally. The record opens with Sense, a relaxed song about people who don’t care for the earth. The album has an instantly different feel from each before, just like all of their records before. Bone picks up the pace, with cartoony flutes. Joey Walker lends his voice to the third track, Dirt. The love song is endlessly stuck in my head. The way he says the title around a minute and a half in is just so great. The title track follows and is extremely catchy. The fifth track trapdoor goes back to their psychedelic roots, the creepiest of the album so far, featuring weirdly wavering backing vocals repeating the title over and over. The next few tracks keep fun feeling. Cold Cadaver sort of reminds me of their earliest tracks as a band, turned acoustic while being less aggressive but still with as much energy. The Bitter Boogie continues the tradition from 12 Bar Bruise of every song with the word “boogie” in the title being one of the grooviest tracks on the album. It also features an amazing vocal performance from Ambrose Kenny-Smith, one of my favorite parts of the album easily. N.G.R.I (Bloodstain) is another track that stays stuck in my head. Time = Fate has Cook Craig on vocals, and some of my favorite lyrics from the album. There’s a part in Time = Fate during the second chorus where the instruments drop for just a second and I love it. Most Of What I Like is Walkers second song on the album, my favorite as well. I can’t explain what it is about it but it’s just so amazing and perfect to me. The lyrics on it are heartbreaking, especially if relatable. The final track Paper Mâché acts as a recapping finale. The record is similar to oddments in the way it feels like a refreshing album after a couple heavier ones. While Quarters! wasn’t heavy in a traditional sense, it still has a very full and complete sound, while this one has a more spaced out and light feel. The quality of the tracks never drop throughout the album. It shows the band continue to improve and put out great albums. Favorite songs - Sense, The Bitter Boogie, Most Of What I Like
Bringing back concepts and jumping straight into Robot Stop the album instantly grabs your attention and manages to keep it for infinity minutes. It has an energy and life never heard before in a king gizzard album. It was made to have the energy of their live shows and was recorded on tour. This track incorporates the flute riff from Hot Water but on guitar, which is not the only similarity between this record and their I’m In Your Mind Fuzz. The entire album is one 9 part suite, structured much like the Mind Fuzz suite, containing an album chorus heard throughout the record, and the songs all share a lot of segments. The records also share locations in their covers. The first 4 tracks are endlessly energetic hits with so much noise and life. That’s the only way I can explain it. This is absolutely their tightest and best album yet. It feels like every member is putting all of their energy into each note. I just adore the tone of everything on here. Big Fig Wasp and Gamma Knife keep up the energy and excitement without getting tiring. People-Vultures to me is the best King Gizzard song so far. I’m the #1 People-Vultures fan. The next track Mr. Beat slows it down while still feeling exciting and fun. The full album experiments with odd time signatures but this one is my favorite example of it. I love this song so much, maybe even as much as the track before. Evil Death Roll feels like the center track of it all. It’s 7 minute length feels short, teasing the next track Invisible Face, which still keeps everything going. Wah Wah makes me take back my claim about the best King Gizzard song so far. It’s extremely tight and exciting and teases the next track very well. Road Train uses galloping drums reminiscent of Drum Run, this time to represent the chugging of the train to hell. The noisy feedback in the start is one of my absolute favorite parts of the album. The whole song is just amazing. Onto the next song.. Every song on this album makes you think you’ve found their greatest song. Onto the concept.. there’s so much theorizing about the concept of this record but nothing is absolutely confirmed, so I’ll just give my short summary of how I interpret it. There is a gate opened to some kind of hell or other world, causing the apocalypse and infestation (of the rats nest) with all types of monsters, more fantasy events ensue. At some point I will make a whole thing about the Gizzverse but shhh we’re not there yet!! Favorite Songs - People-Vultures, Mr. Beat, Wah Wah, Road Train
The Mario desert world of King Gizzard. I love it so much. As the title suggests, this album was made with custom microtonal instruments, creating a fresh sound for the band. It takes their psychedelic rock-based music and makes it a bit less abrasive. Not quite chill music but less harsh. It’s sort of like calmer Nonagon Infinity taken to another setting. Rattlesnake just makes me so excited. I love the transition between it and the next track, Melting. I love the drums on it so much, and it’s extended instrumental passages. Each of the first 3 tracks are over 5 minutes and I love it so much. I want an entire of album of just their longer songs so bad. The way Stu sings with the guitars on this record is just so great, I can’t get over it. The way he sings quickly on Open Water too. The way Sleep Drifter teases Billabong Valley. The 5th track is sung by Ambrose Kenny-Smith and feels like a Murlocs song but if it was King Gizzard. A microtonal spaghetti western song - of course I love it. Anoxia weirdly reminds me of The Wholly Ghost. Doom City!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love Doom City!!!!!!!!! The harmonicas on the whole album sound like elephants and I love it. The intro and production of Nuclear Fusion are some of my favorite parts of the album. The title track is such a great way to wrap up the album, in the way of Paper Maché Dream Balloon. In all, Flying Microtonal Banana is a great King Gizzard album, however it just doesn’t hit quite as hard as some of their other albums, but maybe that’s just from the comparison of it to Nonagon Infinity Favorite songs - Doom City, Rattlesnake, Open Water
Murder of the Universe continues to build on the sound from Nonagon Infinity. It combines the suites of Nonagon and Mind Fuzz with the narration from Eyes Like The Sky, this time delivered by Leah Senior. There’s 3 suites on the record, each telling a different intertwined story about (most likely) a human named Han-Tyumi (Humanity) turning himself into a cyborg, a lightning lord vs. a creature called the balrog, and how Han-Tyumi’s action causes the destruction of the universe. I’ll mostly refer to the songs from their suites, the first being The Altered Beast. Switching back and forth from narration and sung vocals by Stu Mackenzie, the suite delivers one of their most captivating efforts yet. It switches between tracks titled Altered Beast (number) and Alter me (number), weaving together one extremely tight and groovy suite. Every single members playing is just amazing on this album, especially bassist Lucas Skinner. The transitions between songs on each suite and the suites themself are so good. Each song keeps so much energy and excitement. The ending of A New World and the pseudo-breakdown toward the end of Altered Beast III each demonstrate a heaviness that the band hasn’t shown before, I’d love to hear a full metal record from the band. The second suite The Lord Of Lightning Vs. Balrog, features vultures chirping and the familiar riff from People-Vultures, connecting this story to that of Nonagon. The suite also features multiple motifs from and references to that record, even featuring the chorus of that record in multiple sections. Add in more fuzz and it’d fit right in on it. If you liked that album, you’ll love this one, it’s very much a sequel. Han-Tyumi and the Murder of The Universe, the third and final suite goes back to Han-Tyumi’s perspective, that is if the last one wasn’t. This time, his voice is created with text to speech, as he’s no longer human. I don’t know what it is but this suite just completely tops the last two. From the opening to excitement Digital Black creates to the tension created from the bass line and the narration in …The Confused Cyborg and Soy-Protein Munt Machine to everything about Vomit Coffin to the large scale feeling of the title track, this suite is just simply amazing. I cannot speak on it enough. While the first two, especially Lord of Lightning feel almost to the level of Nonagon Infinity, this one takes it there. I adore the way the text to speech sounds with the bands style, which features more electronics than any of their past works. I especially love the songwriting on this suite It proves that the band has more to offer. As their 10th album it marks an important milestone for the band. It’s of course subjective wether or not you think these 10 albums are good, but it’s absolutely impressive that they can do so much in so little time, while still staying creative and fresh, plus they still have 3 more promised just this year. Even if this is the longest they’ve stuck with one sound for, they’ve still made each of these 3 records extremely unique and special, it hasn’t begun to get tiring at all. If they kept building on this sound for a few more records, I’m sure it’d still be great. The only thing i really wish was different is i wish it was 3 long tracks instead of 21 short ones. My short addition to the my interpretation of its connection to the Gizzverse, just for until I make an entire page about it: I think Han-Tyumi turning himself into a cyborg is what opens the door nonagon infinity, or hell. The Lord of Lightning and The Balrog are each creatures like the people-vultures and the big fig wasps. Favorite songs- Altered beast II, The Floating Fire, all of Han-Tyumi and the Murder of The Universe
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