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Category: Rock
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Polygondwanaland
The fourth album from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard of this year, Polygondwanaland, is special for a couple reasons. One, to repeat the earlier point, is that it’s the fourth album they’ve put out this year. Many bands don’t put out four albums in a lifetime, let alone four in one year…with another one yet to come before the year’s end. Second, is that they are giving away this album for free.
Yes, you can download this album for free and, according to the band, use the tracks for anything you’d like. Many indie labels have already created their own rare pressings of the album on vinyl. KGATLW have stated that anyone can use the songs for their film, art projects, mix tapes, remix albums, or any other use. It’s a stunning gift to fans and the world at large.
The album is a neat mix of the many sounds KGATLW create. The opener, “Crumbling Castle,” is an epic song just under eleven minutes long that exemplifies the band’s cosmic psychedelia with echoed vocals, microtonal guitars, perfect double-drumming, and tricky guitar work. The title track is mellower and almost hypnotizing, as is “The Castle in the Air” with Stu MacKenzie‘s flute work.
“Deserted Dunes Welcome Weary Feet” and “Inner Cell” are equally haunting, especially the latter with its lyrics speaking of the dead, ghosts, and shadows. The bass line on “Loyalty” is one of the best KGATLW have put on a track all year. “Horology” and “Tetrachromacy” are neat companion pieces to each other with their complimentary guitar pieces and tick-tock drumming. The building groove of “Searching…” is outstanding, and the entire track simmers with synth wave menace that is new to KGATLW’s sound. I hope they explore more of this on the next record. It flows right into the album’s closer, “The Fourth Color,” which is a sizzling jam on all fronts – especially when it comes back from a fake fade-out.
Is this as good as the three previous releases from KGATLW so far? No, but it is still an excellent piece of work and is reminiscent of some of the band’s earlier material. This isn’t a bad place to start if you’re just now walking into the KGATLW camp. It blends many of their styles well.
Keep your mind open.
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Brother O’ Brother – Neon Native
Indianapolis rock duo Brother O’ Brother are busy making solid records in the middle of a state practically ignored by the music industry and touring bands. Their latest, Neon Native, is a prime example of a nearly secret vibrant music scene in the Hoosier state’s capital.
Opening with “R.O.S.E.,” the album immediately submerses you into Brother O’ Brother’s psychedelic blues and powerful riffs. You can hear influences ranging from the Black Keys to the Black Angels in the first few chords. “16 Flowers” brings in a slight punk edge and flattens everything around you. It’s one of the most powerful songs I’ve heard all year. “Sunshine” has a southern rock vibe before it blows up into something you might hear from Zen Guerilla, “Grab the Rope” gets off to a raucous start with soulful yet rough vocals and then a chugging beat that doesn’t let up for the whole track.
“I Got It” continues the rock and roll fury with guitar work that sounds like strings are going to break at any moment. “I Confess” has some psychedelic sludge that I love. “Cardinal” is, on it’s surface, a song about the beauty of a bird, but it’s also about the beauty of a lover, killer guitar work, and slam-tastic beats. “Fever” is just as powerful in its subtlety as we hear about a “sweet love” who inspires guitar chords that Jack White dreams about at night.
Even the acoustic guitar on “White Noise” has a fierce energy to it. “Take Me” brings back the electric fuzz and ups the blues influences. Their cover of David Bowie‘s “Life on Mars” ups the Mick Ronson fuzzed-out guitars and is almost unrecognizable at first (but it’s still great). “Widow Maker” could be a Thin Lizzy B-side.
Don’t let anyone tell you rock and roll is dead. It isn’t. Brother O’ Brother is living proof. They’re one of my favorite discoveries of the year.
Keep your mind open.
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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard with Mild High Club – Sketches of Brunswick East
The year of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard continues with their fourth album of 2017 – Sketches of Brunswick East. This is a collaboration with psych-rocker pals Mild High Club made while the bands were hanging out for a couple weeks.
It’s a mellower album that their previous release, Murder of the Universe, with a cool jazz fusion sound to the entire thing. “Countdown” is one of the more relaxing tracks in their entire catalogue. “D-Day” has a light sense of menace and even some guitar touches reminiscent of Flying Microtonal Banana. “Tezeta” has a sweet bass lick throughout it and could even be described as “jaunty” while it keeps its trippy touches (and vocals from Murder of the Universe‘s doomed cyborg Hyan-Tumi).
“The Spider and Me” could almost be the theme to a beloved and forgotten 1960’s cartoon. The instrumental “Sketches of Brunswick East II” brings to mind an afternoon spent at a closed and forgotten seaside resort. KGALTW’s front man Stu MacKenzie plays a lovely flute while warped electric piano (perhaps played by a ghost at the aforementioned resort) bounces along next to him. “Dusk to Dawn on Lygon St” is another happy trip, perhaps along a coastal road at sunrise. The bass work on this and the previous track is outstanding, by the way. It roots both songs.
“The Book” is a witty takedown on Bible thumpers and almost has a lounge jazz sound to it. “A Journey to (S)Hell” is a bit nightmarish, but in a way that would make you wake up wondering if what you dreamed was real and not in a way that would wake you up in a pool of sweat. “Rolling Stoned” is another great instrumental that flows out of your speakers in weird curves. “You Can Be Your Silhouette” is a catchy tune about embracing the idea of being a blank slate without the trappings of modern culture, and “Sketches of Brunswick East III” ends the album on a subtle psychedelic note.
Sketches of Brunswick East is a welcome departure from the heaviness of KGATLW’s last there records. Mind you, I love those records, but this foray into lighter, jazzier, trippier fare is a good choice by them. It’s a good choice by you to buy it.
Keep your mind open.
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Thank you, Pat DiNizio and Grant Hart.
I first heard the Smithereens on a local radio station in the mid-1980’s. I called the station to request the song on a later date and the DJ told me, “You have good taste, my friend.” The Smithereens were the first band that let me come backstage and meet them when Mandy and I saw them play at the University of Notre Dame. It was a great show that will forever remain in my memory. We became lifelong fans. I even proposed to Mandy at a Smithereens concert.
The death of Pat DiNizio, the Smithereens’ lead singer and songwriter, is a tough blow for Mandy and I. The Smithereens’ music has been a soundtrack to most of our life together. DiNizio was a talented songwriter who could write power pop and tender ballads like few others. He was also an accomplished guitarist and fellow lover of baseball and comic books, so that made him extra cool to me. He’ll be missed.
I also know I’m late to the party on this, but I wanted to pay tribute to the late Grant Hart, drummer of Husker Du, who died back in September of cancer. I was remiss to not write about his passing due to a lot of stuff that’s been going on here since then. Grant Hart and his bandmates were part of the soundtrack to my teenage years. Few bands could grab your attention like Husker Du, and Hart’s fierce drumming was almost holy to me. It also provided some of the best music for skateboarding I’d ever heard. He, too, will be missed.
I leave you with the first Smithereens song I ever heard. It’s a great example of DiNizio’s craftsmanship. It also rocks.
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Caroline Rose’s new album out February 23, 2018, but her new single, “Money,” is out now.
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Earthless announces March 2018 North American tour dates.
Clear up your calendar for March 2018, because stoner metal giants Earthless will be touring North America. They’re also bringing legendary psychedelic band Kikagaku Moyo and psych-rockers Jjuujjuu with them. This is a great triple bill, so don’t miss it. I’m sure tickets will sell fast once they’re available. I plan to see them at their Chicago stop in late March 2018 at the Empty Bottle. I saw them there last year and it was a great show.
Keep your mind open.
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Oh Sees – Orc
John Dwyer is one of the busiest guys in rock. He has so many variations of his band Thee Oh Sees that it can be difficult to keep track of them all. One of the latest, which he’s just calling Oh Sees, has put out a fine record of psychedelic art-punk called Orc.
The album opens with the crazy, frantic “The Static God” – which appears to be a song about the whirlwind nature of battlefield combat. Dwyer’s guitar is all over the place, but the chorus’ vocal hook has a wonderful pop twinge to it. “Nite Expo” has 1980’s video game synths leading it before Dwyer’s guitar kicks open the door and catches you by surprise. “Animated Violence” hits as hard as any metal track you’ve heard all year, both in the instrumentation (i.e., buzzsaw guitars and thunderous drums) and vocals and lyrics (revealing Dwyer’s love of Motorhead).
The longest track on the record (at 8:10), “Keys to the Castle,” is (on its surface, at least) about a bloody siege in a medieval fantasy kingdom. I’m sure it’s probably a metaphor about how we’re actually destroying ourselves in these castles of loneliness and disconnection we’ve built thanks to the internet, but maybe I’m overreaching and should just enough the fun freak-out of a tune that it is (especially when the violin and organ creep into it).
“Jettison,” with its early Mick Ronson-like guitar work, is one of the grooviest songs about death in a long while (“Who likes sugar in their coffin? The underground is twice as nice.”). “Cadaver Dog” encourages the generation behind Dwyer to be leaders and not followers and be self-reliant instead of clinging to potentially deadly illusions. “Drowned Beast” is a fuzzy salute to deepwater beast warriors who slay and eat everything in sight. Three fun instrumentals, “Paranoise,” “Cooling Tower,” and “Raw Optics” are included. The first has some subtle synths that might make you paranoid, the second is something you’d hear drifting out of a Mothers of Invention studio session, and the third (which closes the album) is a snappy blast of post-punk with a drum solo to boot.
Orc is a quirky, wild record, but you’d expect no less from Mr. Dwyer. He excels at making quirky, wild rock that can melt your face one moment and intrigue you the next.
Keep your mind open.
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Ty Segall’s new album, “Freedom’s Goblin,” due January 26th.
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Partner announce tour dates for 2018.
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