Chunky Shrapnel (2020)

A nice check in with live albums coming today. This one is from European shows they played in 2019 and is separated in three sides by short instrumental interludes that are just quick atmospheric pieces. The track list seems heavy on Infest the Rats Nest and other heavy material, at least until Let Me Mend the Past, which immediately shifts to a modern soul sound. Side three shifts into a more psychedelic gear and from there this thing is one killer song after the next, with Inner Cell and Horology highlighting. I really enjoyed their performance of Wah Wah early on in the album. The true gift here though is the massive performance of A Brief History of Planet Earth, which is anything but at 18 minutes of epic jamming.

Live in San Francisco ‘16

The next live album is taken from a show a few years before, with a focus instead on Nonagon Infinity and I’m Your Mind Fuzz. This one is a bit more my speed. Still heavy but less metal, the Nonagon songs are tight, and it seems the show breezes by until The River (Quarters!), Evil Death Roll, and the long Head On/Pill close us out with the extended killer sequences. They must be one helluva live band.

Sorry also of note was the 4 song opening of I’m Your Mind Fuzz played live. Really sounded incredible. I think this would be a valuable entry point for a would be fan.

A few months ago, I'd have said Omnium Gatherum was my album of the year. Now it's sitting third behind Changes and Ice, Death...

This band is unbelievable. I cannae believe it!

I think OG is better but ice is cool.. didn't get to changes yet

I like Ice… better, but they are both awesome.

changes is a fucking masterpiece.

I should be there hopefully by this time next week.

K.G. (2020)

The second in a trilogy of microtonal albums, K.G. finds the band back to its psychedelic roots, and delivering seemingly effortlessly. Minimum Brain Size, Straws in the Wind, Ontology, Intrasport, Ofdlofe, Honey, and The Hungry Wolf of Fate (amazing!) are immediate highlights- so nearly all of the album. That these guys that just constantly deliver great music at this pace is really crazy. What a great band.

L.W. (2021)

A few months later, this sister album, and the third in a trilogy of microtonal albums, really just as good as K.W. Like it’s predecessor, this one really cooks as it hits the middle of the album. Starting really with Supreme Ascendancy, and all the through the end, this is phenomenal. The closing K.G.L.W. Seems like a sonic overture for the two albums. Awesome.

Butterfly 3000 (2021)

Once again switching gears, this one almost sounds like psychedelic indie dance music? I am not sure there is such a thing, but if there is this might be it. By and large, this is still a very good album. Yours, Shanghai, Dreams, Interior People, and Black Hot Soup are all quite solid additions to the catalogue, though the pure genius of this album lies in Catching Smoke, which is massive and incredibly catchy. I may not enjoy this one as much as most of the others, but I do see the creativity and KGLW signature here.

I may skip 3001 for now since I am not in the mood for 2 hours of remixes.

Made in Timeland (2022)

The first of many albums in this year, Made in Timeland is a cross between EDM and trance like music built around a 60 bpm timing device that ranges from a deep clicking sound to something resembling finger snaps. I happily travel with this band to many places in the last few weeks, though Timeland might be a bridge too far. I mostly feel like this should be playing in the background while I have a conversation with someone or wait for the show to start. It’s not offensive or terrible, just not something I am ever drawn to. Least favorite album of theirs for me thus far.

Satanic Slumber Party EP (2022)

Collaborating with Tropical F@ck Storm, apparently a noise rock experimental group, this 3 track EP consists largely of a quick intro, the strange but charming Satanic Slumber Party Part 2 (Midnight in Sodom), and the very strange and experimental Part 3 (Hoof and Horn), not nearly as charming - about 20 minutes of a collage of strange noises. Part 2 was pretty cool though.

Omnium Gatherum (2022)

At first blush, this has a feel almost like a compilation album of everything they’ve touched (largely) before, but to me that might be a bit of misunderstanding. Almost like a cell determined to grow, this instead seems like a band pushing at the membranes of its borders, demanding to expand in each direction just a little bit more than before. While they indeed jump from synth-pop to hip hop, jazz to jam, soul to metal in a flash, they expand the definition of who they are along the way. Meanwhile, the songs are just phenomenal. Magenta Mountain, Sorceress, Evilest Man, Blame It On the Weather, Persistence, Grim Reaper, Predator X, Red Smoke and Candles are all amazing in totally different ways and all well conceived and written.

This leaves me with The Dripping Tap, an 18 minute epic that is so phenomenal it could have its own post here. Taking one member’s movement, living in it, yelling wooo!, and breaking into a band freakout, and then repeat with a different band member’s space while magically holding it all together cohesively and breezing through so you had no idea you just sat through an 18 minute song? Genius level. Probably one of the top 5 songs I’ve ever heard. Hot damn.

Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava (2022)

Building off the inspiration in recording the massive The Dripping Tap is an album full of this long form epics culled in the span of a week from hours long jams. Everything amazing about The Dripping Tap is here, melding many of the band’s experiments into a cohesive form that takes long track times to flesh out, but each listen on this album is more than worth it and might be their strongest album thus far, most certainly my favorite. Magma, Lava, Hell’s Itch, and Iron Lung are all-timers. Gliese 710 is just the epic close this album needs. Despite 7 songs running over an hour, there’s not a second wasted. Pure genius front to back. Love this album.

Laminated Denim (2022)

On second listen to this, I liked it even more than the first time. Featuring hypnotic rhythms, but in the rock context instead of the EDM like Made in Timeland, this sister album consists of two exceptionally strong songs that lull you in and don’t let go. The second time this jumps from good to really great. Definitely a grower even at just two precisely timed (the 60 bpm clock is back) 15 min gems.

Dripping Tap makes me think of the live RVM jam. This song is 15+ minutes of pure musical heaven.

Changes (2022)

Yet more twists and turns. This one traverses multiple genres while staying soaked in an almost 70s soul vibe. Each song is an outgrowth of the 13 minute Change, which then works as an overture for the whole album while simultaneously standing on its own. The song itself is maybe my favorite on the album, but Hate Dancin’ is a charming dancy song, Astroturf and No Body are also immediately enjoyable. As per usual, there’s no weak point here. And for just a little more fun, the first letter of each song makes out the anagram for the album title. Much more carefully crafted for sure than Ice, Death… and I prefer that one though not by so much. 2022 is largely a stellar year for these guys, one I would argue included 4 great albums out of 5. Also love that all these elements of jazz, rock, and R&B keep popping up here.

Holy shit I didnt realize the anagram! hahaha

'Exploding Suns' into 'Short Change' is such a brilliant way to close the album.

completely agree. this album just keeps wowing me. anyone check out their stuff on Nugs? I'm going to watch the 11/2 show tonight. Premiers in 15 minutes!