Flying Microtonal Banana – 7th Level Music

Top 30 albums of 2017: #’s 15 – 11

We’re halfway there, folks. Things only get better from here.

#15 – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Flying Microtonal Banana

The year of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard began with the first of their five planned releases for 2017. Yes, five. Flying Microtonal Banana unleashes the band’s new obsession with microtones and provided a link between their outstanding Nonagon Infinity to the rest of their catalogue.

#14 – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Murder of the Universe

Easily the craziest album of the year for me, the second release from KGATLW of 2017 is a concept album about a man turned into a cyborg by a giant monster. That man then decides the only way to end his suffering is to destroy the universe so he can finally embrace death.

#13 – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard with Mild High Club – Sketches of Brunswick East

Yes, that’s three KGATLW albums in a row in my top 15. This one, a joint effort with Mild High Club, is my favorite and the mellowest. It’s a delightful change from the heaviness of Murder of the Universe and has some of their best psychedelic grooves.

#12 – Jackie Shane – Any Other Way

This is probably the best reissue of the year. In case you didn’t know (and many of us didn’t), Jackie Shane was a talented performer on the soul scene in the 1950’s and 1960’s who gained most of her fame in Canada and then disappeared into obscurity almost as fast as she became a star. She also did this while being a transgendered black woman during a time when openly living in a such a way was a great way to get thrown in jail or worse. This double-disc album is eye-opening and jaw-dropping. You’ll be amazed that you’ve never heard her before and want to her more of her all the time.

#11 – Zombie Zombie – Livity

I almost forgot how much I missed France’s Zombie Zombie until I heard them again on this new album. It’s an expansive soundscape of sci-fi synths, processed beats, and mood-shifting analog sounds. You need this if you’re into electro, synthwave, or altering your reality.

Who’s in the top ten? Come back soon, my friends!

Keep your mind open.

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Flying Microtonal Banana

Named after a yellow guitar that looks a bit like a Gibson Flying V but is built to play microtones, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s first album – of five – of 2017, Flying Microtonal Banana, is another wild mind trip from the Australian psychedelic workhorses.

Beginning with the sound of wind across the desert, “Rattlesnake” is over seven minutes of toe-tapping, head-nodding, mind-altering psychedelia. The beat is venomous and the microtonal guitar work in the last third of it is great. It flows straight into “Melting” (a song about the damage we’re doing to the environment), which your mind might already be doing by this point. The dual drumming is hypnotic, as is the bass line, organ, and the near-lounge jazz sound of the whole track. The sound of ocean waves keeps you drifting on “Open Water,” and the surf guitar certainly helps. Could it be another environmental warning about all of us living in a water world after the ice caps melt (as mentioned in the previous track)? The microtonal guitars on it are like something you’d hear in a Marrakesh bazaar.

“Sleep Drifter” almost sounds like a slower version of “Rattlesnake” at first, but it’s about sleeping and dreaming with a loved one instead of a song about a wise animal / Midgard serpent. The track gets into a sweet rock groove by the end (love the harmonica and that porn guitar!). “Billabong Valley” is another microtonal freak-out as we hear about an outlaw who enters the mystic valley and is “shot in the back by mornin’.” “Anoxia” gets us back to the environmental themes of the record (The album cover features a man in a haz-mat suit and a snake emerging from a biohazard waste barrel.). The double drums almost play lead on it.

Don’t worry if the previous couple tracks didn’t have enough fuzz for you, because “Doom City” has enough for the entire side of an LP. The microtonal guitar in this sounds like creepy laughter from an evil imp hiding in a dark corner. I’m sure it’s not a random choice that “Nuclear Fusion” follows “Doom City.” The songs flow together and the groove is downright radioactive. It gets under your skin and might make you hear colors as they sing about patterns in the sky and on the subatomic level.

The title track (an instrumental) closes the record, and the band brings in cool Australian Aboriginal percussion to meld with the squealing, hypnotic microtonal guitars. KGALTW are off to a great start in their five-album quest. The second one, Murder of the Universe, is already available for pre-order. Get caught up now while you can by picking up Flying Microtonal Banana.

Keep your mind open.

Live – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, ORB, Stonefield – Chicago, IL – April 08, 2017

I knew it was going to be a wild crowd for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard when I saw a woman in line pick up a roach she’d dropped after her friend had taken a toke and then passed to her. Yes, she finished a joint that had been dropped on a filthy Chicago sidewalk (on North Clark, to be precise) and then joined the line of people who had been “pre-gaming” at the pub next door.

I met a friend of mine, Amy, I hadn’t seen in years for the show. She hadn’t heard of KGATLW, ORB, or Stonefield. She told me she didn’t listen to anything by any of them before the show. She wanted to be surprised. She wore a walking boot as a result of a foot surgery, and that allowed us to sit in a specially designated “handicap seating” area in the Metro balcony. I’m not sure how anyone with an affliction worse than a post-surgery walking boot could make it up to the balcony, but we had great seats regardless.

Stonefield were already playing when we arrived (The Metro is one of the few venues I’ve visited that is serious about the starting times of their shows.), and they had already swooned most of the crowd. Amy was a fan within two songs, and their blend of 60’s psych and doom metal was a heady brew and a fine start to the evening.

ORB were onstage not long after Stonefield had finished their set. I was keen on seeing them as their Birth album is one of my favorites from 2016. Their hard-hitting stoner metal sounded great. They played a fast set that left all of us wanting more (in a good way). I hope they release another album or EP soon.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard came out to an enthusiastic crowd who were crowd surfing within three songs. Amy cried out, “Look at that crowd!” The main floor was a rolling sea of bodies and limbs for KGATLW’s entire set. They played a lot of tracks from their new album, Flying Microtonal Banana (review coming soon). “Sleep Drifter,” “Rattlesnake,” and “Billabong Valley” all were hot cuts. Another big hit with the crowd was “Altered Beast.”

The crowd, which was crazy enough already, went bonkers during “Robot Stop” from their amazing album Nonagon Infinity. “People Vultures” and “Gamma Knife” were also big hits. “Vomit Comet” was fun, as was They didn’t play an encore. Instead, they played a stunning medley of “Cellophane,” “Head On / Pill,” “I’m in Your Mind,” “Altered Me,” “Rattlesnake,” and “Robot Stop.” It was like they had looped the show back on itself like a snake eating its tail. I’ve never seen a band do anything like that live.

It was a killer show. My voice was hoarse by the end of it. By the way, KGATLW has already announced the release date of their second album (of five planned) for 2017. Murder of the Universe will be out June 23rd (and you can pre-order it as of today). Look for them to tour near your town soon!

Keep your mind open.