King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava
morning folks! this week we’re taking a break from the regular schedule to try and catch some recent (and a few not recent) releases that have slipped by me on the normal review pace. and yknow what, it sure is Gizztober huh. as i’m writing this review, there is already a second new KGLW album coming out, and another on the way! prolific indeed. that being said, we’re here for the first of the October records, Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava. let’s see what we got!
getting the Mushrooms first with Mycelium here, a bright, incredibly saccharine sounding track that delivers some moderately ominous lyrics from, well, mushrooms. this is a very nice track, but the long jammy vibe on this kind of vibe starts to wear a little – not enough that it break the track but enough that i start feeling that its 7 minutes. Ice V was the lead single here, and yeah this track rocks. vocals lines here feel great, and they get up to some SOUNDS over this track’s ten minutes. its jammy and groovy and fun. love it. getting a double dose of molten rock here with Magma and Lava back to back. Magma has a creeping, hidden vibe to it – the whispering, hushed lyrics and bass heavy music cultivate this incredibly fun tone. plus i love the bits of flute flourish we get here. Lava is hews a lot closer to Mycelium – not my fave of the two, though this track has some bright moments for sure. despite continuing the same kind of vibe i actually enjoy Hell’s Itch quite a bit more that either Lava or Mycelium. Iron Lung was the other single from this record, and yeah this track rocks. lotta classic rock vibes off this one. huge fan. Gliese 710 is a real menacing, brooding closer with a lot of jazzy flair to it, its a lot of fun.
faves – Ice V, Magma, Iron Lung
dislikes –
i think this is a fun record. i’m glad KGLW came out of their lockdown time swinging with this jammier record – this FEELS like it was fun to make. and honestly when this record hits it hits hard. Ice V is infectious to the core, for example, i straight up cant get enough of it.
unfortunately, there’s solid chunks of time here where i don’t feel like the protracted, jammier nature of the songs brings a ton to the table. some of these tracks couldve been a little tighter with a shorter runtime, i think.
but yknow, thats sometimes how it goes! the record still rocks – an incredibly smooth listen through with some soaring high points and some extremely good exploration of sound throughout.
Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava – 6/10
first: Willoughby’s Beach | previous: Omnium Gatherum | next: Laminated Denim
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