King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity

otm to everything. They really capture some of the best parts of Australian youth culture: wide optimism towards everything, the willingness to have "FUN" at the expense of status. Re: the hippie stuff, I think it's because Giz is so broad in their style that whichever style they pick loses the corniness as it is more of an exercise of "let's pull out all the fun/good from this particular style" and less of a "lets take conceptual metal albums or hippie gaia musing as some narrow road to the truth" that can inadvertently come out of bands where such a style is a sole focus.

and yeah, they are huge over here. It's a surprise to meet anyone under 30 who doesn't at least know of the giz. And I mean anyone, yuppies, beachies, do-nothing'ies, churchies, skate'ies, gamer....'ies, etc. etc. And even if the band is not for said people, there's still a sense of respect given (work-ethic and diversity, we suck at it so we respect it when we see it).

oh that's interesting to hear about their audience in australia.

i see them doing all of these big venues here in the states in the summer, red rocks and all that - with multi-day engagements, matinee shows, that kind of thing. it seems to me that they're the perfect "college music fan" band of the 2020s, i think of the crowd i was with in the early 2000s that were into flaming lips and jam bands and indie rock and jazz and stuff.

everyone otm and I need to listen to them more, they are very big with the kids at the college station I DJ at

I’m getting increasing returns.

This is absolutely them, for me. The more I listen, the more I love it. The more of it there is, the more I admire them. It helps that my 8yo is currently OBSESSED and plays them non-stop at the moment.

Re: Gaia, I think that's their best "metal" song yet. I think it was Rat's Nest that made me realise how genius this band was - that they could play such a breadth of music, but also demonstrate such a depth of understanding, or at very least sincere enthusiasm, in all that music at the same time. They played thrash so well, so enjoyably. But Gaia is something else - the way the riffs ride over the switching grooves, the sliding sections of it, the sheer heaviness and darkness of it.

Their embrace of climate politics is 100% sincere, by the way. I don't doubt Stu believes Gaia theory and is probably on the planet's side tbh.

yep I agree with map, idk if this band is gonna be my thing (I like what I've heard though) but either way it's super cool they're as big as they are. They really do seem to be having fun with what they're doing and I love how they seem to just let anyone who wants to press their records. For a band as strange as they are sometimes they seem to be fairly well known. I've heard them brought up in conversation a lot lately and my local shop has a bunch of posters for them up.

Their embrace of climate politics is 100% sincere, by the way. I don't doubt Stu believes Gaia theory and is probably on the planet's side tbh.

oh absolutely, you can hear it! i didn't mean to sound dismissive of it by calling it hippie shit - that is really nice to hear atm and i think it's part of what makes them so appealing. "gaia" also dives into a kind of cosmology that i also basically agree with. there is an embrace of death in a lot of their lyrics / subjects that feels like the opposite of nihilism to me.

my other fav on omnium right now is "evilest man." the subject matter of "conservative media" is like .. proceed with caution for me, lol, not something i necessarily want to hear a song about, you know? but i'm all in when it gets to this section:

I wonder if he knows this song
Probably read before it was done
He probably hacked my phone
I'll change the locks when I get home

and after the last line it just blasts off into one of their psych guitar explosions - like it's such a gratifying affirmation of interior personal space in the face of some hall of mirrors nightmare land.

i got ice, death..., laminated denim and changes based on jon via chi's list. he is otm about ice, death..., what a great album, just deep psychedelic rock goodness that goes further into their earth-based cosmology. that first track is so unbelievably euphoric. laminated denim burns bright too, two 15 min tracks with some ashra / can shenanigans going on. haven't connected as strongly to changes yet but think it's likely i will.

pastiche distillation music

With Pollard, I feel there's a mercenary vibe that's developed in later years (maybe less so than circa GBV's initial split and the avalanche of releases that followed), where he seems to be focused on making PRODUCT, and knowing that there's a faithful audience there that will purchase all his output, even box sets sourced from fan-circulate bootlegs. For Stu, he seems genuinely intellectually engaged with each project Gizz do - there's an infectious sense of joy, and one shared among the other bandmates. It's a bit of a utopian thing, if you can dig it.

― his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Tuesday, January 17, 2023 11:18 AM

If they did a collabo with Guided By Voices, I really hope they call it "Doug Gillard and the Lillard Willard"

hahahahahaha!

this is gonna sound like a stretch i'm sure but the band these guys remind me of is neil young & crazy horse, in overall scope and vibe more than a particular set of common sounds, although some of the extended guitar work has a resemblance.

hell's itch: a beautiful song about flaying oneself

the kraut influence sometimes translates as stereolab-gone-prog-rock. the music is good to great but the lyrics are really where it's at for me. in that department they remind me of radiohead a bit when that band was really nailing the zeitgeist in the late 90s. but their lyrics are better. really interesting / probing stuff about bodies and the earth, making really bleak observations sound affirmative, sometimes joyous, sometimes funny, sometimes just weird.

that's an intriguing take! where do I start, which album do u recommend?

Omnium Gatherum is probs the best starting place - eclectic sounds throughout, and the lyrics are smart and strong (Gaia, Evillest Man, Blame It On The Weather)

That was the first one that clicked with me when I was trying to catch up. And then my friend said they reminded him of Ween, and ... yeah, kinda.

would also recommend Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms & Lava as a next stop after OG

yeah, for me, those two are equally as good. As far as their older stuff goes, I still think of Nonagon Infinity as the ultimate KG album, and it maybe leans the hardest into the non-stop motorik vibe. Flying Microtonal Banana is my personal favorite from that period, and I'm In Your Mind Fuzz is a great dirty garage rock jam. I also think Infest The Rats Nest is excellent, but it is a straight up metal album and is pretty far from their core sound.

Second j/v/c's next-step purchase and entirely agree with Moodles' choice of old skool Gizzard LPs. The Live In San Francisco album is great, too - that closing Head On/Pill is such a fabulous jam.

^^ yeah that live album is so good

My two early favorites were Quarters and I'm in Your Mind Fuzz.

I actually sprang for Needlejuice's 9-CD release of their entire 2022 Red Rocks run, as a consolation for not being able to see them on the upcoming tour.

Bought my 8yo I'm In Your Minid Fuzz for Xmas as the first record she owns herself. She's already a massive Gizzhead but that one contains a bunch of her favourites.

Considering taking her to the End Of The Road festival when they play there this summer, but also considering not because I just am not convinced taking an 8yo to a festival isn't a massive headache.

want to give a shout out to laminated denim too. at this point it's up there with omnium and ice death planets for me.

I’m sure there’s a better thread to post this in, but the Gizz is relevant whatever

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=586231203546287&id=100064782364065&mibextid=tejx2t

bluesfest is imploding

Good.

Deserves to implode, imho, after the organizer's absolutely terrible response to Gizz pulling out.

Based on this article, the festival organizer's response seems pretty reasonable.
Do he do something else that was terrible?

It’s possible that Noble’s definition of “extremely apologetic” matches yours, but doesn’t align with other readers here, or some of the musicians on the lineup.

listening to Ice, Planets, etc. now and whoever said they were like a modern Gong is totally otm. was kinda hoping I would *not* like this band because I see their vinyl all over and it looks so cool. but I can't help but notice that everyone who's into this band has excellent taste, so I guess it's fate

"one of us, one of us"

they are just a great band, you probably won't like every single album they put out, but there are some great ones.

Based on this article, the festival organizer's response seems pretty reasonable.
Do he do something else that was terrible?

the general feeling is that sticky fingers never really made amends for their behaviour - after their year-long hiatus they gave a disastrous interview on their return downplaying the incidents as 'boys will be boys' and they've continued to get into trouble - two of them got into legal trouble after having a drunken fight in 2021 for instance, so people are right to be sceptical about claims that they've reformed and that frost especially has gotten his issues under control

Well the guy behind the festival released an initial response when KGLW originally dropped out that was super defensive, arrogant and basically taking Sticky Fingers' side. As the backlash gained steam, they backtracked and released a newer statement. Still trying to find the original response...

It's been scrubbed pretty completely, even the two Reddit threads that posted his initial response have had the original posts nuked.

As is well known, I am and always have been the Director of Bluesfest.

Over the years, Bluesfest has been the promoter of music festivals which allowed diverse artists to exercise their freedom of artistic expression and have afforded the Australian public access to their works.

In the course of doing so, Bluesfest has been proud to give prominence to indigenous artists and to promote diversity in the music industry.

Recently, a band decided to cancel a forthcoming appearance at Bluesfest because Sticky Fingers, particularly its lead singer (who are booked to play at Bluesfest), was involved in an incident with another artist offstage a long time ago.

There has already been a lot of social media traffic about this decision. I think one commentator well reflects my feelings, as previously stated:

“That whole situation happened 7 years ago and the lead singer of Sticky Fingers has been extremely apologetic and open about his bipolar schizophrenia and substance abuse during that time and is also Māori. They’ve done the work to try and make amends and took a long hiatus to fix things.”

I believe an attempt to victimise this man and his band in the circumstances is cruel and unforgiving. This cruelty and lack of compassion are foreign to my values, as is the attempt to suppress the band’s artistic expression. I was and remain proud to give the band a chance at rehabilitation.

Bluesfest hopes that the public will understand, respect, and hopefully, on reflection, agree with the position my company and I have taken. Forgiveness is critical to helping people with mental health challenges continue functioning in society.

It has been suggested that because of the listing of Sticky Fingers, Bluesfest and I endorsed the lead singer’s ancient troubled behaviour. That suggestion is deplorable, untrue, and actionable as being defamatory.

That one?

I have no clue what he's done but this sentence makes it sound real bad

That whole situation happened 7 years ago and the lead singer of Sticky Fingers has been extremely apologetic and open about his bipolar schizophrenia and substance abuse during that time and is also Māori.

yeah, that one, thanks.

the official Bluesfest PR that was published as a screenshot so you could see the crybaby paragraph c+p'd from the band's management was pretty good too

https://themusic.com.au/features/what-did-sticky-fingers-do-to-be-cancelled/R_BTW1pdXF8/25-02-23

this is a detailed summary if you're interested in reading far too much about sticky fingers' history

putting all the mess to the side for a moment, sticky fingers make horrible music and I was glad not to hear it playing in public the past 5 or so years

i thought 'king gizzard & the lizard wizard' was a not-great band name at first (it has grown on me tbh), but 'sticky fingers' is just abysmal. like naming your band 'rubber soul'.

from a Marrickville bowling club

wonder which one, Staff Writer

'sticky fingers' is just abysmal. like naming your band 'rubber soul'.

with the additional wrinkle that "sticky fingers" is gross and double-entendre-y

I have finally reached the point of my life which I mocked all others Australian Gizz fans for for. Giz has become influential in me finally wanting to buy a massive 100 watt orange amp+cab duo and just smash out some garage rock (rock, in my garage). God damn their early stuff is so much fun to churn out loud in your shed. There is something about this band that makes you feel like "hell yeah, lets do what they're doing". Not for art, not for music, not for fame, but simply for fun. The Giz know how to have a good time.

Would like to reiterate as well, very very very very very fun and great live band

Based on the name alone, I will never voluntarily listen to this band.

I hate the name too, have heard in the background since my kids listen to them, but didn’t make an impression on me either way.

Based on the name alone, I will never voluntarily listen to this band.

Absolutely your loss.

That spinoff or whatever it is of theirs, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, is even worse!