Category: Reviews

Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – KG

As they are often happy to do, prolific psych-rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have released an album enshrouded in mystery and riddles. I’m sure that the cover, with its imagery of a collapsed structure, has produced many Reddit discussions about hidden messages within it. Is that a totem pole on the bottom left corner? Are those snakes to the right? What does the block with nine holes in it on the upper right represent? What’s with the crosses? Finally, where’s “volume 1” if K.G. is “volume 2?” It wouldn’t surprise me at all if KGATLW’s next album is called A.T.L.W. and it’s listed as “volume 1” on the cover for reasons unknown to anyone but the band.

To further stir the pot of witches’ brew, the first track on K.G. is “K.G.L.W.” The short instrumental harkens back to themes heard on Murder of the Universe and it drifts like incense smoke into “Automation” – a track that returns the band to their psychedelic roots (a much welcomed return at that) and some of the microtonal sounds they brought us on Flying Microtonal Banana. “Minimum Brain Size” is even better as it pushes the psychedelic elements a bit further with its Middle Eastern-tinged guitars and spiritual song vocals.

“Straws in the Wind” reminds me of some of the stuff KGATLW released on Sketches of New Brunswick East with its mellow tones, excellent acoustic guitar work, sitar touches, and slightly krautrock timing. “Some of Us” continues our trek through a starlit desert while KGATLW sing about the “destruction of everything” and enlightenment.

“Ontology” picks up the pace. It sounds and feels like we’re heading down a river that slowly grows more rapid by the moment. Then, to throw us out of the mandjet and into the Nile for a wild tumble, along comes “Intrasport” – an electro dance track that any DJ could drop into any set and fill the floor. Thumping synth bass, disco drums and synths, 1970s porn film guitar…it’s all there.

“Oddlife” then mixes the disco synths with psychedelic vocals (“It’s an oddlife, ’til you get it right.”) and killer drumming. The harmonica and acoustic guitar on “Honey,” one of the first singles from the album, make it a standout. It sounds like a fun bike ride around the back forty of a mint farm in the late summer (complete with harp flourishes).

The first time I heard the closer, “The Hungry Wolf of Fate,” the local tornado siren test started just before the song’s intro ended. It was a perfect mix. A warning of danger and a song about a fierce beast with heavy drums and howling guitars.

K.G. works quite well and is a nice return for the band to shorter songs with concise songwriting. Mind you, I love their epic ten-minute-plus jams, but here they show they can cut in, cut up, and cut out.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters…

One look at the cover of Frankie and the Witch Fingers‘ new album, Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters…, and you know you’re in for a weird, wild time. It’s like something out of a Thundarr the Barbarian episode that never aired. The music, recorded in just five days, is just as good…and it’s a double-album to boot.

Many influences abound on it. Opener “Activate” mixes Afrobeat and krautrock with its groovy bass and space guitars. “Reaper” is practically dipped in Ty Segall‘s sweat with its soothing verses and bone-crunching instrumental breaks. “Sweet Freak” seems to incorporate a little Earth, Wind & Fire into its groove and is a standout on an album full of good tracks.

“Give me your hand, I need to see. Where’s your reality?” they sing on “Where’s Your Reality?” – a fierce rocker that barely takes a breath. The instrumental “Michaeldose” keeps your toes tapping for almost two-and-a-half minutes, flowing into the short “Can You Hear Me Now?”, which flows into the sizzling, psychedelic “Simulator” – a rallying cry for all of us to snap out of our simulated realities and pay attention to the crazy, wild world happening around us. “Wake up, it’s a lie!” They’re right.

“Urge You” is trippy Oh Sees-inspired ooze (and FATWF did tour with them for a while). “Cavehead” seems to give a nod to Primus with its snappy groove, slightly distorted vocals, and power guitar riffs. The album ends with the rolling, rocking, and reeling “MEPEM…” for about eight-and-a-half minutes of chugging psychedelic garage…something. It’s a heckuva closer.

It’s a heckuvan album, too.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Osees – Live at Big Sur

Because they apparently are incurable insomniacs, Osees recently performed a full live set at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, California. They later live-streamed the show and released it in digital format and limited edition vinyl as Live at Big Sur. It was a neat set that included a lot of material they don’t play often and an encore of cover tunes.

Starting off with the garage-punk “Rogue Planet,” the band (Tom Dolas – synths, John Dwyer – guitars and vocals, Tim Hellman – bass, Paul Quattrone – drums, and Dan Rincon – drums) shake the ground right away and get you moving in your living room, car, office, or wherever. “I Can’t Pay You to Disappear” has Dolas’ keyboards happily skipping around the front of the wild track. The double drumming on “Opposition” is so good that you can’t tell where Quattrone’s stuff ends and Rincon’s begins (which is pretty much the standard whenever they play together).

The thumping, grooving “Crushed Grass” is the first song over two minutes. Dwyer’s guitar sounds like a ticking doomsday clock and Hellman’s bass is the soothing voice keeping us from falling into oblivion. “Heavy Doctor” is another fun garage rocker. They nail it so well that Dwyer gives himself and the band a guttural cheer at the end and proclaims, “Fuck you, song.”

“Ticklish Warrior” pounds out the fuzz, nearly melting your eardrums in the process. As always, any live version of “Gholü” is bonkers and ferocious. Dolas’ synths on “Withered Hand” sound like the wind coming in from the sea at Big Sur. Dwyer’s additional synths and effects are the sounds of ghostly gulls…until the whole band kicks in with the fury of the ocean hitting sharp rocks.

Dwyer’s guitar on “Voice in the Mirror” sounds like a pissed-off praying mantis. Hellman cuts loose on “Tunnel Time,” and band runs along trying to keep up with him (which they do, by the way, much to our delight). Another fan favorite, “Gelatinous Cube,” follows and I’m sure the Henry Miller Library’s grounds would’ve been a complete mess by this point if a crowd had been there, as a mosh pit would’ve already been up to full power and this song would’ve been like a collective Red Bull shot for everyone. Hellman takes the lead again on “Poor Queen,” putting down a cool bass walk that lasts the entire song.

A personal favorite, “Lupine Ossuary,” follows. That song always shreds and this live version is no exception. Dwyer seems to be exorcising demons with his guitar and Rincon and Quattrone sound like they’re shooting down German WWII bombers over France. The main set ends with “Dead Medic” – a wild jam that lasts over ten minutes.

The encore consists of four Black Flag covers (“Nervous Breakdown,” “Wasted,” “Jealous Again,” and “Fix Me), a rare Liket Lever cover (“Levande Begravd”) that absolutely kills, and a Faust cover (“J’ai Mal Aux Dents”). They have a blast playing these tunes, and their energy and enthusiasm is infectious.

It’s a fun record and, by the way, they released another album after they released this. They’re unstoppable.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Oh Sees – Metamorphosed

Blending punk rock and krautrock, Oh Sees‘ Metamorphosed is a wild EP, but what else would expect from these cats? They’ve been incredibly prolific this year, which has been a boon to us fans of the band. Future live shows by Oh Sees might end up being three hours long just so Tom Dolas, John Dwyer, Tim Hellman, Paul Quattrone, and Dan Rincon can play half the material they’ve put out this year.

Opener “Saignant” is a minute-and-a-half blast of punk fury that leaves you wondering, “What the hell just happened?” “Electric War” unleashes double surf drums, trippy synths, and Hellman’s bass sounding like it’s doing a keg stand while Dwyer’s guitar runs around the room like a mean gremlin. “Weird and Wasted Connection” starts to bring in the krautrock elements, but stays at under two minutes with its post-punk tempo.

The first three tracks are each under two minutes in length. “The Virologist” (Could Osees be the first band in 2020 to come up with that song title? It seems unlikely, as it was ripe for the taking.), on the other hand, is an instrumental that’s over fourteen minutes long. Quattrone and Rincon put down a steady beat, Hellman goes for a bass stroll, Dolas kicks back and meditates with his synths, and Dwyer takes his time with his guitar – letting it stretch out like a cat in a warm window. “I Got a Lot” is over twenty-three minutes with Dwyer repeating “I got a lot on my mind.” several times. Don’t we all by this point? He also sings about wanting a future, to be a teacher, and, more or less, to, as Prince put it, “get through this crazy thing called life.” He also sings, “I wanna get ya real high.” The song nearly does that with its hypnotic drums alone.

It’s a fine EP and another piece of the big Oh Sees / OSEES / OCS catalogue just from this year that includes two live albums, a full album, a remix album, and multiple singles. Oh Sees have shown us that 2020 wasn’t a year to slack off. Sure, it gave some of us extra time to relax, but it was a year to create and focus and work for the betterment of ourselves and others (as every year should be). It was a year to transform, to metamorphose into something new. Put on this EP and get to work.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Yardsss – Cultus

I’m not sure what is most impressive about Yardsss‘ new album, Cultus. Is it the epic riffs? The space / stoner jams influenced by early Pink Floyd? The way invites you to get lost in it like a hedge maze?

It might be that the entire album was improvised. Yes, Krist Kreuger, Robin Levy, and Paul Schaefer made up this entire record as they went along – completely trusting each other and letting the journey take them to unknown places.

It’s only three tracks (“Cultus I,” “Cultus II,” and, you guessed it, “Cultus III”), but the first two are over seven minutes each and the third is almost twenty-two minutes in length. All three are stunning pieces. “Cultus I” builds to a spacewalk playlist jam with swollen riffs, rolling drums, and rocket fuel synths. “Cultus II” dives straight into the deep end of the hard rock pool with furious riffs and then swims to the shallow end for a shot of tequila for a bit.

“Cultus III” could be a transmission from V-ger in the first Star Trek movie for all I know. It’s weird, wild, and cosmic. It rolls along like a war machine across a Jack Kirby-drawn landscape in a Kamandi comic.

It’s a stunning piece of work, and proceeds from its sale go to charities that focus on homelessness and prisoners. You can’t miss.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: BRANDY – The Gift of Repetition

I love the cover of BRANDY‘s new LP, The Gift of Repetition. It’s a bunch of broken smartphones and ink blots that, if you look at them just right, spell out the record’s title. I can’t help but wonder if the pictured phones ended up in such a state from being dropped in mosh pits at BRANDY shows because the record is a fury of punk rock that is perfect for shaking you out of your smartphone-induced zombie state.

Opener “(Wish You Was) Madball Baby” has a great, yes, repetitive post-punk drum and bass beat while sings / yells about the desire that a lover would just go off the hinges now and then. The guitars on “Dangle” deftly move back and forth between roars and fuzzy fills.

“I’m Shipping Up to Boston” might have you stomping the gas pedal if you hear it while driving. It’s like fuel injection for your bloodstream that will have you turning into a bobblehead. The bass licks on “UFO’s 2 Heaven” are great, and the whole tune bumps with punk attitude and “We’ve got these chops and we’re going to flaunt them.” spirit.

“Christmas Colors” adds synths to the mix to make you turn and mess with your head and confound you with lyrics like “Wearing my red and greens, mistletoe magazines.” The jingle bells are also a nice touch. “Clown Pain” might be about kinky sex, as the band keeps yelling, “Thank you for my clown pain!” over fun and loud guitar chords before it devolves into trippy synth sludge. “Text Home” has the heaviest, fuzziest bass on the whole record – which I love. “Insane Screensaver” closes the album with New York Dolls-like swagger and kiss-off lyrics like, “Guess what? Your mommy don’t care!”

This is a fun punk rock record. We need more stuff like this right now, especially as winter bears down on us here in the U.S. We need to be slapped awake and encouraged to jump on our beds and dance around our places as we self-isolate, and this is a great record for that soundtrack.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: All Them Witches – Nothing As the Ideal

Nashville power-psych trio All Them Witches came back this year with one of their heaviest and possibly most philosophical albums yet – Nothing As the Ideal. The album’s title suggest either that there is nothing ideal out there, or, as I suspect, nothingness / emptiness / stillness is the ideal. It’s what we should all dwell in at least a few minutes a day to remind us that the moment around us is the only thing there is. All Them Witches make this point by flattening you with rock.

“Saturnine & Iron Jaw” has a title like a Heavy Metal comic and hits as hard as, well, iron. It begins with creepy synths and bells, bubbling like a cauldron about to come to boil, which the song does with metal riffs that would make make many bands jealous. Singer / bassist Michael Parks, Jr. sings about higher forces of perception and nothing as the ideal as the “gentle hand of confusion” leads him back to himself. “Enemy of My Enemy” chugs along with the best doom bands out there as Parks warns us to beware his power and drummer Robby Staebler puts down serious, serious fills. “Everest” is a guitar solo from Ben McLeod that lasts just over two minutes and gives us time to breathe (and admire his playing).

The loops of someone saying hi to their friends or relatives at the beginning of “See You Next Fall” is downright creepy, and the synths that go with it are something out of a horror film. Soon, Parks is asking if he “should lay the hammer down” as he lays down a wicked bass groove. “The Children of Coyote Woman” continues the “Coyote Woman” saga that has been told across multiple ATW albums by now. It covers one of the band’s favorite topics – mythology and tall tales.

If you believe Douglas Adams, then “41” is just short of the answer to life, the universe, and everything. ATW might be looking for the answer amid their shredding riffs and thunderous drumming, but they also might not want to know it. Sometimes the mystery is better, and could mere mortals truly comprehend such knowledge? “Lights Out” chugs along like a barely controlled eighteen-wheeler hauling a tanker of gasoline while being chased by a werewolf motorcycle gang.

The closer, “Rats in Ruin,” is over nine minutes of simmering psychedelia that puts just enough reverb on Parks’ vocals to make them sound like he’s a ghost living underwater singing about the inevitability of death and the folly of worrying about it. The song almost fades out and then builds back up into a soaring, majestic track with McLeod’s guitar flying over you like a roc and Staebler’s drums roaring like a bison herd.

The album gives you a lot in a short time, leaving you with more questions than answers. The questions are ones of self-exploration, however, and, if you come up with nothing at the end of the search…Well, that’s ideal.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Death Valley Girls – Under the Spell of Joy

Under the Spell of Joy, the new album from Death Valley Girls, was created with somewhat of a “first thought, best thought” mentality in that the band (Bonnie Bloomgarden – guitar, synths, and vocals, Larry Schemel – guitar, Nicole “Pickle” Smith – bass and vocals, Rykky Styxx – drums) had some ideas for the direction of the record but decided not to force anything. They just let the album…happen.

The result is a pretty cool record. Opening track “Hypnagogia” is about the moments when you’re almost asleep and susceptible to vivid, quick dreams and flashes of inspiration. The song, with it’s smoky saxophone by Gabe Flores and organ chords from Gregg Foreman, reminds me of T. Rex songs if T. Rex were more goth than glam. “Hold My Hand” has Bloomgarden asking for human connection in a year when it became rare. Styxx plays a great garage beat throughout it. The title track starts off with “Under the spell of joy, under the spell of love.” chanted before Bloomgarden and Smith sing about the wages of sing and Flores’ saxophone mimics the sound of sailors wailing on the rocks after they realize they’ve been brought in by sirens.

“Bliss Out” is lovely psych-pop. The gritty synths on “Hey Dena” melt into a psychedelic haze that is beautiful to hear and feel. “The Universe” keeps up this psychedelic trend but lifts it (and us) into orbit as planets align. “Everybody is everybody else. Nobody is by themselves,” Bloomgarden sings…and she’s right. “It All Washes Away” deals with one of my favorite subjects – impermanence, and how it isn’t to be feared.

“Little Things” has a fun, jaunty groove with some surf hints dropped in for good measure. “10 Day Miracle Challenge” is a raucous, slamming rocker about tapping your inner power to turn around your life. “I’d Rather Be Dreaming” could sum up everyone’s feeling about 2020, and it’s a cool, sultry track to boot. The title of the closer, “Dream Cleaver,” is a clever take on Robin Wright’s “Dream Weaver” and is a lovely, uplifting psych-rock track to send us out on an optimistic note.

We can all be under the spell of joy if we will it. If all of us will it, all will benefit. If even one of us will it, others will benefit. “It’s yours to find,” DVG say. Find this record while you’re at it.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Praÿ – Hemerith

Hemerith, the new two-song EP from Lyon, France’s Praÿ, packs a lot into its running time of just over twenty-four minutes. The first track, “Faithless Goddess,” is like an orc war song from a future where orcs fight druids in a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland. The three members (drummer Antoine Berthet-Bondet, guitarist Maud Gibbons, and bassist Jason Rols) move back and forth from the lead without shoving each other around the room, and it sounds to me like the track has some krautrock influence with its beats and structure, which I don’t mind at all.

“Widow of Light” might be the name of the next villain I create for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. It starts out as a mellow affair, not unlike a sleepy grizzly awakening from hibernation and stepping out into the sun for the first time in months. Gibbons’ guitar takes on a faster pace, and soon her bandmates are chugging along behind her as they storm along a rolling river with the grizzly leading the charge while a raven cackles overhead.

This is just a sample of the power Praÿ can produce. You can get lost in this, even though it’s only a two-song EP.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jason of Praÿ.]

Review: Oh Sees – Protean Threat

If you’re thinking, “Wait…John Dwyer put out another Oh Sees record and a new Damaged Bug album in the same year?”, well, you don’t know the half of it. Dwyer is one of the most prolific musicians out there and the COVID-19 pandemic gave him plenty of time to create and release new music. Protean Threat is one of six releases from Oh Sees / Osees this year, starting with this album, then the live Levitation Sessions album, then an EP (Metamorphosed), two singles (“Dark Weald” and “Blood on Your Boots”), and a remix of Protean Threat called Panther Rotate. They’re also doing another live session on December 19th, 2020 that will be recorded and released before the year’s end – so that brings their total to seven (and, again, eight for Dwyer thanks to Bug on Yonkers). Much like a live Oh Sees show, they don’t give you much time to rest.

The first track alone on Protean Threat, “Scramble Suit II,” is a machine gun attack right out of the gate with wild beats, weird synths, and wuzzy-fuzzy guitars that knock you off balance before you realize what’s happening. “Dreary Nonsense” is like something you’d hear while barreling down the street in Dick Dastardly’s race car. Dwyer’s guitars are like security alarms blaring after a break-in at a munitions depot. “Upbeat Ritual” adds a sprinkle of jazz-psych to the mix as Paul Quattrone and Dan Rincon‘s double-drumming moves to front and center and Tim Hellman puts down a simple bass line that is deceptively masterful. Hellman knows when to push the fuzz and when to keep it simple in order to produce maximum effect.

On “Red Study,” for example, his bass work gets more complex as Dwyer’s guitar comes in like a curious hornet (sometimes sounding like a saxophone) and Tim Dolas‘ synths sound like an Indian snake charmer coaxing a cobra out of a basket. “Terminal Jape” pushes the fuzz to the limit as Dwyer yells / sings, “The system has been thrown around…The system has been broken down.” That’s among the truest lyrics of 2020. “Wing Ruin” is a cool instrumental track that reminds me of some of Frank Zapppa‘s work with some early Genesis thrown in for good measure.

“Said the Shovel” starts off with a sweet groove from Hellman and the Rincon-Quattrone duo getting all jazzy on us, which is pretty damn cool. “Mizmuth” dollops bloopy synths atop angry praying mantis guitar sounds. “If I Had My Way” is a fun jam with the whole band locking into a tight groove and bringing us along for a fun ride. “Toadstool” swaggers like a drunk vampire.

Someone ringing the “Gong of Catastrophe” could explain the debacle that is 2020. Dwyer sings about “the crumbling of the spires that you thought you knew so well.” COVID-19 has forced many to confront impermanency, whether they like it or not. “Canopnr ’74” has a weird rhythm that is hard to explain. It’s a fine example of Rincon and Quattrone’s complimentary percussion. The album ends with the raucous “Persuaders Up!” I’m not sure how the band keeps up with each other, because each member seems to be trying to outrace everyone else.

Thee Oh Sees are firing on all cylinders right now. Their future live shows in front of crowds are going to be even more off the chain than before if this album is any indication.

Keep your mind open.

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