CHANGES

This year we have gotten 5 albums from our favorite band from Australia. Not only that, but they have all been consistently well-made. Made In Timeland is a unique progressive electronic album filled with fun 15-minute movements that are quite delightful. Omnium Gatherum is a jack-of-all-trades album that features a lot of different styles from jammy psych rock to heavy metal to even hip hop. Ice, Death was an incredible jazz fusion album that I think held that style of theirs to even more high regard. Laminated Denim struck me the most with that fun yet relaxing jams that continued some ideas from Made In Timeland and Ice, Death but added new stuff to make things even more phenomenal. Now we get into their last record for this year, their 23rd album, in fact, Changes. I am surprised the band can put out high-quality records like hot cakes, heck 5 this year is a jaw-dropping amount, just as much as they did 5 years ago in 2017. This band works fast and does things incredibly well. Within this October trilogy we have gotten the more jammy side of King Gizzard, but never the more compositional workings they can certainly deploy. Within Changes, that, no pun intended changes that. These are recordings of songs they have written from 2016 through today, and with that, we get a variety of eras the band has explored through the years.

It all starts with the track of Change. This 13-minute, the tranquil melody is extremely good. Within the 13-minutes you get some very tasty mellow space rock movements that are all chilled out in their approach to music. This keeps up for most of the 13 minutes until at the end it ramps up the heat and becomes a lot more jammy, yet it feels extremely natural and focused. It also has some pop elements, which even as a Prog fan I appreciate. I think it's fun to cool your head with some more poppy elements once in a while. It even has some rapping too, really making King Gizz a band that can do any genre of their choosing. Pop? No problem. Hip Hop? Sure why not. Psychedelic rock? You know it, baby. This song is a great example of how you can still be progressive without doing blatantly progressive music, sometimes it's good to do some more accessible elements. I think as said by the great Neal Morse, "I like to have simpler things break up the epics." I agree with that mentality, and I think King Gizzard agrees as well.

If the first song didn't tell you to shut up and have fun then this song will. Hate Dancin' is best described by the lyrics, "No more caring about what other people think, let 'em kick up a stink." It is a song not meant to be too artsy or too wild and crazy, it is meant to be a very fun pop song for the world to enjoy. While my inner progressive rock fan is telling me this song sucks, my outer self loves this song. It is way more than a generic modern-day pop song, no I find it to be something more. It is a song that is happy because the band is happy, and if the band is happy, I am happy as a result. It doesn't tell you to be happy for happiness's sake, because why should it tell you to be happy when the song itself is filled with joy? This is really how I see bands like Moon Safari or Cheeto's Magazine create their music. They make these fun, whimsical, and jovial songs that aren't just happy for artificial brownie points but are happy because the band is happy. Hate Dancin' is like that but in a pop form rather than a progressive rock form. I do love this song, it is just so fun.

Next up we have Astroturf and from the lyrics, I can interpret this was written during Fishing For Fishies, but the sound is very in line with Butterfly 3000. Due to those two factors, I get a strange sense of nostalgia for this song. It is weird but incredibly well-pronounced in the musical department. We get a mix of some R&B and synthpop mixed in with the band's psychedelic nature. This combination makes for more fun music to be had. Not only that but they try more conventionally odd instruments in the mix of the more pop sound, such as flutes and horns. It does bleed out a jovial sentimentality in me, and because of that, I cannot deny its greatness.

If you thought Change was chill, then you have heard No Body. While not as long, it is so much cooler than what Change offered, and for its benefit, it works well. What I love about this song is the bass work of both Stu and Lucas. They deliver some fresh and almost dream-like work here that goes towards the more trippy psychedelic atmosphere even more than usual. It is lightweight but has some good weight to it. It is at a perfectly reasonable length too, being 3 minutes long, which allows the listener to get attached to this style of music and possibly seek more stuff out from it. It is a very chill song that doesn't overstay its welcome, and I like that.

I think though the album does have one rather weak moment and that is Gondii. I am a fairly reasonable fan of the more synth-pop sound the band can deliver, after all, I did praise Astroturf for that aspect, but with Gondii I think it is a little bit of a poor man's take on the genre. I think my main problem is that the electronic music being made here doesn't sound as good as I think they hoped it'd be. It honestly reminds me of that weird 80s revival from the late 2010s where every art project was trying to look and sound like the 80s and either succeeding in what that era of music had, or just sounding way too stale despite that decade having some amazing sounds and bands. I think this song has that problem, and while I do not hate it, I don't love it either. If anything, it is the weakest link this album has to offer.

Though we do get some remedies for Gondii with Exploding Suns, which, mind you, continues that the path Change and No Body had, but refined them a bit to make for a great song. It is so calm, collected, and pretty in its sound, really letting the air breathe around the instruments as the sounds just wash you away in a nice sea of tranquility. If anything it is the most chill song the band has made, and with that I expect it to be on a lo-fi compilation playlist soon. I joke, but this song is relaxing. A mind laxer for these trying times.

The album ends with a reprisal of sorts for Change but in the form of Short Change. It may be 2 minutes but these end the album with a bang. It is a wild song, with lots of sounds, intensity, and immaculate finishing movements that, while not being the longest closure for a King Gizz record, add another layer to this album's sound and makes not only for closure for an album that was pure bliss for the most part but closure for a good year of King Gizzard releases. It is wild, it is great, and it is just fun.

That is what this album is, pure fun. No strings attached, just pure bliss and energy, from the more relaxed and chill type of fun to the wild parties. It makes its pop sounds in a way that they aren't just happy sounding, but happy feelings as well. This is the trademark for optimism right here for this very great band. I highly suggest checking it out, heck I think it can serve well as a good starter for anyone looking to get into King Gizzard. It is a great end off for this year of King Gizzard music, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Alright, another new King Gizz record this October. I'm a Gizzhead, I admit. I have least liked virtually everything they published since around 2014. 'Changes' is no different.

The record starts off with the longest track, called Change. It lives up to its name as the changes are abundant during the 13-minute track. All around a central theme. But the best of the track comes after it finishes. Because then will gradually find out that all the following tracks relate back to this one. 10/10

Hate Dancing has the same chord progression as Changes has but still sounds like an entirely different track. Very light and fun, but oh so well played. Just listen to how the bass and drums drive the track forward. 8.5/10

Astroturf is funky as heck and maybe my favourite track of this album, continuing the chord progression. 10/10

No Body slows things down considerably. Naturally, with the same chord progression. Gotta love the drums, the base and the beautiful guitar solo. 8.5/10

Gondii has electronica in abunance. It's mesmerizing to understand all tracks are sharing the chord progression. Pleasant enough. 7.5/10

Exploding Suns is as laid back as can be. Great atmospheric track. 8/10

Short Change is a fun reprise of Change to end this album 8.5/10

For me, this is a 5-star album. It is great. It's bold. It is delicious.

The fifth and final album release of 2022 from Australia's Kings of Joy and Creativity. Here the band resuscitates seven leftovers from previous albums--all of which happen to use the same chord progression (same key)!

1. "Change" (13:03) a very pleasant, engaging and relaxing laid-back tune with whispered choral vocals.Despite several tempo and dynamic shifts, the song feels the same from start to finish. An interesting stop-and-restart at the end of the seventh minute results in a fun JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE-sounding rap section over some 1970s Canterbury pop music. Very cool! This is a surprising section which doubles up the surprise by being one of the more charming sections of the song (and album!). At 9:40 we have yet another stop-and-restart bridge of reverbed chorus vocals over Fender Rhodes which turns into another happy-go-lucky sing-a-long vocalise section. So infectious! Then, at 11:28, everything stops again before sounding as if it's going to go Canterbury again but then, surprise, heavy drums, bass, and fuzz guitar strumming lead us through another "bup-di-da-do-be-du-do-do" section to the end. Some really great, happy and engaging parts. (23/25)

2. "Hate Dancin'" (3:16) opens with the same chords from a Fender Rhodes sounding like we're about to start hearing either Ace's "How Long" or 10CC's "I'm Not in Love"--but then the whisper "I still hate dancin'" vocals and drum entrances let us know it's something quite different--and something way more fun and upbeat. (9.25/10)

3. "Astroturf" (7:33) now we're in the territory made familiar to me by 2020's debut release by Catalan psych pop band MAGICK BROTHER & MYSTIC SISTER. Even when the vocals enter and take over I feel as if we're in the Mediterranean--this time in Milan with THE WINSTONS. Horn hits, live flutes, and squirrely synth solo flourishes make for an even more interesting funked up tune. Fun drumming throughout but especially in the show-off section of the sixth and seventh minutes. (13.25/15)

4. "No Body" (3:42) being slowed down and spaced out gives the chords a bluesy feel. The slow, single-voice-delivered vocal does little to change the more introspective feel of this song. Has a little BEATLES feel to it--if The Beatles ever put a little more emphasis and/or faith in their instrumental sections. (8.5/10) 5. "Gondii" (4:56) now I feel as if I'm listening to THE BUGGLES from their 1980 debut album, The Age of Plastic. Even when the choral vocals enter and take over they're not so far from the heavily treated vocals of Trevor Horn or Vocoder Geoff Downes; the biggest difference are the live drums as opposed to the machine-driven ones Horn and Downes used to drive or support their own songs (mostly click tracks). (8.75/10)

6. "Exploding Suns" (4:40) a very cool, very spacious down-tempo jazz feel similar to music by bands like KOOP or THE WINSTONS. I love the whispered-in-your-ear lead vocals, echoed snare hits, and delicate Fender Rhodes note fills as well as the multiple synth solos. Oddly, this is probably not my favorite song on the album but, critically, I believe it to be the most masterfully produced--it's just the coolest! (9.75/10)

7. "Short Change" (2:50) a kind of party outro for the album to end in a celebratory bang. Fun but could've been better. (4.25/5)

Total Time 40:00

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and one feckin' happy album--something we need so much more of in these woeful times.

October 2022 saw KGLW release their jazziest album to-date with Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava, and some of those jazz flavors carry over to this release as well.

Changes starts with the semi-eponymous 13-minute "Change". Warm electric piano and gently skittering drums push this song along in its opening moments. Stu Mackenzie's vocals are gently muttered and lightly processed, adding to the dreamlike state. As this piece progresses, it becomes clear that the title works in tandem with the song's structure. The base of the verse repeats multiple times, interrupted by occasional soft resets. But with each reset, there's some new element added. Bass is given a prominent role throughout, alongside guitar embellishments and a strong sense of building tension. 

Squeaky synthesizers lead the bridge melody, lending a tight, eager energy which smoothly segues into a moment of obvious soul and R&B influence. Krautrock flavors then emerge with otherworldly synths and a simple but insistent rhythm. By this passage's end, the synth lead is giving me flashes of Keith Emerson.

In the final three minutes, the song shifts back to its original verse template. But as everything builds up, instead of cutting out, "Change" explodes in a climactic, psychedelic cavalcade of fuzzed-out guitars.

"Change" leads smoothly into the pre-release single, "Hate Dancin'". I wasn't crazy about this song at first, but it has grown on me and works better in the context of the album than on its own. It keeps the overall sound palette of "Change", with electric piano and gentle vocals. Additional flutes also add some nice textures.

Outer-space synths and funky bass kick off "Astroturf". The vocal cadence is staccato, and weird blasts of brass add unusual punctuation to the lines. These strange moments are interpolated with gentler, fluid moments. I really like the funkier influences on this cut, particularly in the flute and bass solos. I would never have thought of "funk flute" as a thing, but it makes sense given the genre's frequent utilization of other wind instruments. (That, and I'm just simply not very familiar with funk.) Despite having a lot of good elements, "Astroturf" does run a hair longer than it needs to.

A mournful, bluesy guitar lick is the first thing you hear in "No Body". The tempo is relaxed, though it doesn't drag. This is a decent enough bit of psychedelia, but it's hardly an essential cut.

If you're looking for an essential KGLW song, however, look no further than "Gondii". (This is actually the second song about toxoplasmosis I've covered this year, the first being Hypnotic Floor's "Toxo".) A throbbing electronic pulse propels this song, and there's a strong sense of urgency. It's tight, powerful, and catchy all at the same time. Krautrock and space rock converge to make this an instant classic within The Gizz's oeuvre.

"Exploding Suns", meanwhile, is my least favorite song on the album. It's not bad, but it does feel aimless. It floats along gently, with acoustic guitar and electric piano providing most of the minimalistic backing. There are some cool synthesizers in the middle, but that doesn't make up for the overall dullness of the piece.

Changes ends on the appropriately-titled "Short Change". It's a three-minute revisitation of ideas from the album opener, and it's a great way to close the record. It's an energetic flurry of guitars and keyboards which acts as a strong bookend. Plus, I just love the dumb wordplay of the album title against this and its 13-minute counterpart.

King Gizzard's newest album might not be their strongest or most groundbreaking, but it's definitely in the top quartile. It's fun, jazzy, proggy psychedelic rock. Even the weak cuts aren't that bad, and the high points are especially high.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2022/11/21/album-review-king-gizzard-the-lizard-wizard-changes/