NONAGON INFINITY

I have their first twelve studio albums and decided to review my favourite five from those then get to the rest later. I've already reviewed "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" from 2014 their first great record. "Quarters!" is probably my sixth favourite sitting between that album and this one "Nonagon Infinity" from 2016. I feel like they took the best stuff from "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" and tried to better it here. So the first four tracks on "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" were like a high energy medley then they slowed it down pretty much the rest of the way while here we get a lot more medley type stuff going on with most of these blending into the next, and more often than not this is high energy music. I kept picturing the band onstage playing this with a Hall full of young people all bouncing up and down song after song. A lot of youthful exuberance with this band although they certainly have their lighter, more mellow records.

Man the music here is so catchy and uptempo with the band seeming to be having the time of their lives. The title of the song generally gets repeated a lot along with multi-vocal shouts at times throughout the high energy tunes. The harmonica, guitar and on one song the organ usually lead the way as soloing over top but it's that two drummer rhythm section with the bass that really drives the music.

"Gamma Knife" is right up there as far as favourites go and yes he says "Gamma knife" a lot but again so catchy and energetic and the harmonica is on fire. I like the guitar 3 minutes in as the drums roll in and out. "People-Vultures" and "Mr. Beat" are both so catchy and energetic, yes I'm a broken record here but those are two great tracks. My favourite might be that heavy closer "Road Train" where we get some heavy drums and distorted guitar to open as vocals join in. Such a powerful rhythm section. Gotta love that sound just before 3 1/2 minutes with the riffs as it builds. So good! I haven't even mentioned "Robot Stop" and "Evil Death Roll" two killer tracks and there's more.

A solid 4 stars but I prefer "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" to this one.

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Posted Saturday, June 4, 2022 | Review this album | Report (Review #2758465)

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's discography is pretty sprawling, but Nonagon Infinity (so named because it has nine songs which, if you put the album on repeat, presents a continuous musical cycle with no beginning or end) is one of the more widely-celebrated landmarks. Compared to Polygondwanaland, the first album of theirs I'd heard, it's somewhat more direct and straightforward - think psychedelic rock with a garage rock attitude, or perhaps garage rock that's been dropping acid, rather than the sort of progressive space rock approach of their more elaborate and prog-like releases. It's a fun and entertaining example of the type, and I'd say is worth a listen, but it doesn't reach the top tier for me, and leaves me wondering whether King Gizzard might be a band which churns out large quantities of four-star albums when they could be putting out a smaller number of five-star albums.

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Posted Thursday, June 29, 2023 | Review this album | Report (Review #2936471)

...one of King Gizzard's most popular albums to date! To me this album builds off on of their previous albums "I'm in Your Mind Fuzz" with a very similar garage rock aesthetic. To me this is what Mind Fuzz really should have been, with more progressive elements, catchier melodies, and a lot more dr ... (read more)

Report this review (#3049575) | Posted by GameSwitcher | Tuesday, April 23, 2024 | Review Permanlink

You really have to applaud King Gizzard for their creativity and boldness to push the envelope. But it's one thing to have a creative idea, another to pull it off. And again something entirely different to create a beautiful and memorable album. KG&tLW did just that. They created an amazing record. ... (read more)

Report this review (#2735828) | Posted by WJA-K | Wednesday, April 6, 2022 | Review Permanlink

Nonagon Infinity is in my opinion, a landmark of modern psychedelic rock music. Though I think King Gizzard had previously struck gold with their records "I'm in Your Mind Fuzz" and "Quarters," in many respects Nonagon Infinity sort of irons everything out into one very cohesive and undeniably r ... (read more)

Report this review (#2494841) | Posted by dougmcauliffe | Sunday, January 17, 2021 | Review Permanlink

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