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Dispatches from the Highlands
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one held moments of intrigue, but those were outnumbered by others preventing me from fully climbing on board. But here, the fourth time is the charm.
Album Notes from Erickson “The Soundtrack to your Chill”
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Flight b741
With regard to its place in their catalog, phrases along the lines of "most accessible" are
If there was one King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard album to win over those previously unsold, this might be it. Flight b741 is practically easy listening by the standards of the Aussie's output. ere's no trash metal. No
found in nearly every review of the Irish group's latest, and I couldn't agree more. Although, that description could arguably be applied to all of Romance's predecessors compared to each prior. While those never quite got me there, something about this one kept my curiosity piqued, despite needing a few listens to fully be persuaded. In the end, there's a so undeniably 90s factor about Romance, one that harkens to those impression- able, formative years in one's life when musical predilection is formed. I dig this Romance .
microtonal jams. No psych freakouts. No extended elec- tronic explorations. Instead, for a group whose albums have largely been eas- ily encapsulated by
expressing a single genre, they launch their new P(doom) Records label with one that is simply 70s rock. It's a full group a air, where harmonies abound more than ever and each member takes a turn as lead vocalist. Crucially, the band sounds like they're having fun, (also con rmed by leader Stu Mackenzie), a trait not always readily apparent on some of their heavier e orts to date. Flight b741 brings big- ger choruses and an overall charm more akin to keyboardist/harpist/vocalist Ambrose- Kenny Smith's other band, e Murlocs, than just about anything else in the Gizzverse. Twenty-six albums in, the Gizz keep Gizzing. While this marks the end of their rule in this domain, they'll no doubt continue to domi- nate my soundscape for years to come.
Bizhiki Unbound
e music of Unbound provides a therapeutic calm while the vibrato wails counter as a cathartic release.
Such is the debut from Bizhiki, a pair of Native Americans, Joe Rainey and Dylan Bizhikiins, along with Sean Carey (of Bon Iver). Largely a mashup of ethereal production with intermit- tent droning beats, the overall tenor of the album is one striving for holism. Although the trio of Carey-led vocal portions may fall at, they also serve to heighten the impact of the remaining e orts powered by Rainey and Bizhikiins, utilizing their powwow style to great e ect over what would otherwise seem to be counterintuitive backdrops. Yet, the record succeeds, the artists freeing themselves from preconceived notions, which is to say, Unbound.
Fontaines D.C Romance
It's only taken me four years, and three more albums since a friend's recommendation, to fully embrace a Fontaines D.C. release. Each previous
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