ICE, DEATH, PLANETS, LUNGS, MUSHROOMS AND LAVA

1. "Mycelium" (7:35) horrible drumming. Not a song I like at all--feels very immature and haphazardly constructed around a simple/childish riff. (11/15)

2. "Ice V" (10:15) kind of cool song though the sound levels of the component parts of the drums bug me. The groove reminds me of West Coast Canterbury Funk à la Brian Ellis or Starving Daughters. Over its ten minute length, the infectious groove thickens and has plenty of time to get your dancin' feet charged and activated. (17.75/20)

3. "Magma" (9:06) another pleasant CAN-like jam most notable for its bass, guitar, and flute play. Vocals at 4:00 establish a new dimension before the rhythm section goes back to it's Kosmische groove. The lead guitar play in the second half is nothing new, souring the song's welcome, until, that is, the choral vocals return for the final minute or two. (17/20)

4. "Lava" (6:41) flutes play gently as the rest of the "orchestra" sound as if they're warming up. I actually like it! Sounds kind of primordial, in a civilized human kind of way--though I'm also remined of the cacophonous beginning to "A Love Supreme" before everybody comes together and gels. At the 90 second mark everybody straightens up and sits back to watch/listen as the percussion crew establishes a baseline rhythm and speed for the others to begin adding their contributions to: choral vocals and spacey guitars (that remind me of POPOL VUH) At 3:50 guitars and flutes launch into some heat-rising spiral while everybody beneath trances within their Jonathan Goldman-like breathing rhythms. This could honestly be a great song for the facilitation of psychotropic breathing. A top three song for me. (9.25/10)

5. "Hell's Itch" (13:27) There's a little MOTORPSYCHO in this band despite its groove jam tendencies. A very nice groove to sink into with some entertaining contributions going on within, over, and below. Bass and drums are rock solid and well mixed for this one. The airy choral vocals are interesting if a little more challenging to understand, but they remind me of some of the nice pop vocal harmony vocal arrangement from the 1960s (though not, of course, the lyrics)--like THE BYRDS from around 1967. Another top three song. (27/30)

6. "Iron Lung" (9:04) finally the talents of the drums are fully on display--and all of the drum sounds are balanced and mixed perfectly within the rhythm track. So many incidentals occurring within the sonic field that a few times I found myself startled and looking around Plus, the searing guitar play on this one and kinetic lead singing in this one are fully charged, really get my adrenaline pumping. The spirit of bands like Arcade Fire and The Jam/The Style Council are so alive in this music! Packed so full, such great enthusiasm gelling from every which way, this is my favorite song on the album! (19.25/20)

7. "Gliese 710" (7:48) opens with some glitch-jazzy music over which some ARCADE FIRE-like choral vocals over the bluesy jazz groove. Cool vocal and lyric over some rather dull SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT-like music. (13/15)

Total Time 63:56

I have to admit that this is probably my favorite King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard album that I've ever heard. With music like this (and more great Motorpsycho music) I might still be persuaded to become a Space/Psychedelia devoté.

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.

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