Lav's Music Corner

Yes LCD Soundsystem are back and yes there was a pretty good chance going into this list they would be at the top spot 99 out of 100 times, see whether it came to fruition.  5.  Punish  - Ethel Cain I still get some dolls unhappy with my review of Ethel Cain's breakthrough Preacher's Daughter  where I pointed out how inclined she is to senselessly waste time with both too many songs and songs that wander on for way too long. With her even longer follow-up, I can already feel similar instincts creeping in but this lead single does have me biting my tongue a bit. Despite definitely being both longer and slower than it needs to, the subtler cracking darkness that the Ethel Cian persona has always been wading through is very much intact and it's clear why she's made a name for herself by doing it so well.  Listen 4.  AAA  - FLO R&B girl group FLO have as much potential as anyone right now and they've been showing it off with great singles for a few yea...

PetroDragonic Apocalypse  - King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard For a while, I was a BIG King Gizz fan. The group managed to genuinely re-invent themselves with each new project and do such in such an impressively short time. I'm In Your Mind Fuzz, Paper Mache Dream Balloon, Nonagon Infinity, Murder Of The Universe, and Infest The Rats Nest  are all still favorites of mine. But starting in 2020, something changed with the band. My first issue was their continued indulgence in microtonal desert rock, which might be their least compelling sound ever and made for some of their weakest records. But even once they left that phase and began to return to other styles from their past I just didn't feel the same connection to their new work as I used to. This came to a head when four new albums last year, all of which I felt similarly disengaged with. It was the first time since I started this blog that they had released new studio albums that I just didn't cover in any capacity, bec...

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are an Australian psychedelic rock band known for both their prolific output and the wide variations of their sound. After releasing two moderately acclaimed albums last year and a vinyl only project earlier this year Omnium  is a highly anticipated return to numerous fan favorite sounds. Review By Lav: For a long time I was a very big fan of King Gizzard. While some of their albums are conceptually misguided their ability to execute consistently with such a variety of sounds is incredibly impressive. Unfortunately it's been a few years now since I really enjoyed one of their projects as they released not one but two sequels to their desert rock era, one of the most uninspired sounds they've ever explored. I was a bit more positive towards Catching Smoke  last year but it still didn't come near the bands best work. I think they knew that fans were feeling a bit underwhelmed because they made it a point to return to some of their classic ...

I have nothing of any importance to say this week aside from the fact that it was the best week for new singles in quite a while. Enjoy <3 5.  Wild Child  - The Black Keys Dan and Patrick are back and clearly influenced by their spin as a Missouri Delta covers band because this is their busiest piece of original material in years. While it is instantly satisfying to see them turn back the clock and there's a guitar bridge on the song that can only be defined as "sweet", I'm not sure this is quite as infectious and instantaneous as their best material. Still loving the change of pace.  Listen 4.  Sweetest Pie  - Megan Thee Stallion (Feat. Dua Lipa) Is this a purely pop motivated turn for Megan, yes. But it's also a really enjoyable song with Dua's charming hook and the combination of typically hip hop centric trap drums with those walls of warbling synths that go together surprisingly well. I love that Dua is allowed more than just the hook on the song even ...

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are an extremely prolific Australian psych rock band who have released 18 albums in less than a decade of existence as a band. This is their 2nd album of 2021 and comes off the heels of a two part series of psychedelic desert rock music on last years K.G.  and this years L.W.   Butterfly 3000  is poised to break this sonic trend as the band promised a shift in sound before dropping the album with no singles.  Review By Lav: It wasn't that long ago that you could count on King Gizz for an exciting new concept and consistent output of good tunes at least twice a year. While 2019's Fishing For Fishes  was as big a miss as the band has ever had I was more than thrilled to see them make up for it with the thrash metal Infest The Rats Nest  later that year. Unfortunately the bands last two records have been two of their weakest to date. Sonically they work as follow-ups to another one of my least favorite Gizz albums Flying Mi...

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard are one of the definitive bands in the contemporary Australian psych rock scene who have been prolifically releasing sonically diverse concept albums over the past decade. L.W.  is the sister album to last years K.G.  and they both follow in the footsteps of some of the bands earlier experiments in microtonal tuning.  Review By Lav: Generally I would consider myself a big fan of King Gizz and they even have a number of albums that I absolutely love. Unfortunately the experiments in microtonal desert rock have no been among my favorites. The bands first adventure into this sound was 2017's Flying Microtonal Banana  may have been my least favorite of their famous 5 albums released that year. They followed it up with last years K.G.  which similarly underwhelmed me and left me hoping that the band would be going in a drastically different direction next. Obviously that isn't the case but I still went into L.W.  with an open m...

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are a truly unique Australian psychedelic rock band. For the last decade the prolific group has released a number of records which often indulge in conceptual narratives under a wide variety of sonic approaches. Last year the band released a two albums that indulged in environmentalist themes with the hokey Fishing For Fishes  and the thrash metal experiment Infest The Rats Nesi .  Review By Lav:  King Gizzard have certainly been one of the most exciting bands of the past 10 years. Not only do they have a versatile roster of musicians on hand to tackle all kinds of sounds but they release music so prolifically that a new idea or concept is always right around the corner. When they hit their stride on records like Nonagon Infinity , Paper Mache Dream Balloon  and most recently Infest The Rats Nest  they are exciting, unique and ferocious. Unfortunately going into K.G.  it was clear that the concept was another journey int...

Quarter three of 2019 has been the best by far and the months of July, August and September were absolutely packed with killer records that you should definitely hear. But just in case you missed the lists earlier in the year here is the Januray-March   list and the April-June  list to check out. So without further ado here are ten more records you can expect to see populating my year end lists. 10. Infest The Rats Nest  - King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard After disappointing earlier this year with Fishing For Fishes  King Gizz came out of nowhere to drop one of the most genuinely enthralling  thrash metal records I've heard in years. With very strong influences from the genres godfathers the band sounds straight out of 1986 with fiery performances all around and an exciting and youthful energy that genre has been lacking. Review 9. All My Heroes Are Cornballs  - JPEGMAFIA Peggy quickly follows up his breakout project Veteran  from las...

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard are and Australian rock band who have spent most of this decade dropping consistently evolving albums that explore a huge variety of thematic and musical concepts. This is their second record of 2019 after taking 2018 off on the back of releasing 5 albums in 2017. Review By Lavender: With a band that drops as much material as King Gizz there will obviously be some inconsistencies, but the highs are seriously some of the fieriest rock moments of the decade. Nonagon Infinity , Murder Of The Universe  and Paper Mache Dream Balloon  are each wonderful records but they explore some very different ideas and musical approaches in their tunes. Their first record of 2019 was one that I wasn't as high on as many of my favorites from the group, Fishing For Fishies  was a corny and far too jammy album with just as many lows as highs, a catchy set of tracks but far from a memorable one. That's why I was so excited to hear the band go in a comp...

Ty Segall is an American rock artist who has been pushing the boundaries of modern rock and indie music for over a decade now by dabbling in psychedelic rock, garage rock and punk. He has released a myriad of records as a solo artist and in a number of short lived collaborative groups that consistently push for new sounds and have been lobbied with plenty of critical acclaim. Review By Lavender: Due to the absolutely massive amount of releases Ty has under his belt it is difficult to encapsulate him with one style or even one quality of release. The most comparable artist to Ty Segall is definitely King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard as not only do their styles have a ton of crossover but they have both released a ton of material that covers a wide range of genres, and not always perfectly.  While I have really not been head over heels in love with a Ty Segall album since 2014's Manipulator  the last one I even took the time to review was last years Freedom's Goblin ...

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard are an Australian psych rock band who have made a name for themselves exploring unique concepts and a prolific album release schedule. Their first big breakthrough came in 2016 with Nonagon Infinity  a high energy blistering psych rock album where all of the songs lead into one another for one cohesive listen. They followed the success of this up with a wild 2017 where they promised to drop five albums in one year and delivered. They took a well deserved 2018 off and are back to drop their first project of 2019 with Fishing For Fishes.  Review by Lavender: So as you would expect for a band that has dropped so much music in so little time, not all 13 Gizz albums are flawless but given their tight concepts and willingness to experiment they have come up with plenty of worthwhile moments. My love affair with the band started in 2014 when the single Cellophane  made its way to me and I quite enjoyed the album I'm In Your Mind Fuzz ...

The Top 10 Artists Of 2017 While the Albums, Songs and EPs list celebrate individual achievements of greatness artist of the Year takes a step further. Everyone comes into the start of a year in different places and everyone leaves a changed artist, whether drastic or minor. The Top Artist Of The Year has always been one of the more subjective lists as it takes into account the perception of an artist beyond their music where opinions differ even further. Acts like Kendrick Lamar and LCD Soundsystem released albums that would easily land a first timer on this list, but when compared to their greater discographies we're left to wonder what could have been. These 15 artists left no room for wishing as they set out to have fantastic 2017's across the board. Honorable Mentions Alvvays In 2017 Alvvays proved they had staying power in the Dream Pop genre, a feat most bands without "Beach" in their name have struggled to achieve. A trio of fantastic singles and ...