This is really the first album by Gizzard that has the nonstop continuity (at least for most of the album) that some of their more recent albums have (Nonagon, Murder, Flying Micro) which is something I love. Really brings together the feel of one large cohesive piece of music IMO. I like the energy on this one a lot and how it starts out fast and powerful and kind of turns into mellow and spacey by the end. I do think it is one of the more underrated Gizzard albums that doesn’t get mentioned much.
Also fun fact, the majority of this album was recorded at Daptone Records in Brooklyn. Little snippet from the band:
We recorded this album while on tour of the states - I think we had a day or two off in New York and we were lucky enough to book a day recording at Daptone Records. Most of us had been obsessively listening to their artists and records for a while and we were so excited to get in there and discover how they made their records sound how they do. We met Wayne for the first time - he engineered the record and is an absolute legend. He started as their tape op and worked his way up. It was cramped fitting all 7 of us in there - but there’s been much bigger bands record in there and they managed. I loved that non-perfectionism ethos that Daptone/Wayne had - it was a perfect match from the start. We were all really getting into classic Kraut Rock at the time and loved those repetitive, motorik beats - they open the album and really set the tone for me. We were also starting to experiment with blending tracks together in our live set and it started to seep onto this record. I actually think the original idea was to have one beat for the whole album and the songs fade in and out over the top of it. I guess we kind of lost course of that but tried to pull it off again (kind of) with Nonagon
Never wrote up on Oddments, so here’s my thoughts on that… Definitely another album where not a lot stood out. The tracks also certainly have an unfinished sounding quality to them, which I don’t really care for. My favorite tracks are Alluda Majaka and Work This Time.
I’m In Your Mind Fuzz is in the right direction for sure. Looking forward to where it goes from here. I dig the segues. Still a little too “noise” for me, but this is the best one yet.
Good morning Gizz nerds. We have now made it through 1/3 of the KGLW catalog.
This week’s album: Quarters (2015)
Album info/fun facts:
The album features four songs, each running for ten minutes and ten seconds[2] making each song a quarter of the album - hence the title. Drawing upon jazz-fusion and psychedelic rock, the album’s more laid-back sound was described by the band as “unlike anything they’ve released before” and as “an album more likely to get your head bobbing and hips shaking as opposed to losing footwear in a violent mosh”.[3]
Stu Mackenzie described how the composition of the album came around in an interview in 2015:
“I wanted to make a record where I didn’t have to yell, as well as exploring some longer, repetitive song structures.” Four tracks, four quarters, each one precisely 10:10 minutes long, each one an extended jam teeming with melodies, the occasional trickle of water, space funk, laughter like Pink Floyd and deliciously unfussy grooves. I also didn’t want to use any brutal guitar pedals or sing through blown-out guitar amps as I usually would.”[4]
I like Quarters a lot, both conceptually as an album and the music itself. I didn’t post this week due to lack of replies but I’ll keep going if people wanna keep talkin about Gizz albums.
Here are my personal rankings of what we have listened to so far:
Float Along - Fill Your Lungs
I’m In Your Mind Fuzz
Quarters
12 Bar Bruise
Eyes Like the Sky
Oddments
Willoughby’s Beach
I’ve definitely been slacking on this and BRnRC. I haven’t specifically relistened to a few of the albums for this thread and noted that in my ranking below.
Quarters is a great album. Fun concept, good music, and a nice change-up in sound. It’s been interesting to listen to these albums in chronological order, since I very much did not do that when initially exploring the Gizz.
Rankings so far:
Mind Fuzz
Quarters
Float Along (no relisten)
Oddments (no relisten)
12BB
Willoughby’s
Eyes Like The Sky (no relisten)
Wtfffff the October Red Rocks shows might have gotten pushed back another year. If that’s the case I will have had these tix for like 3 years from presale to concert date. The RR site still has the dates listed for 2021 but my tix in AXS say “New Date” and list 2022. Guess we will see if it gets confirmed…
