13.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity
I was obviously too young for prog at the time. When I listen to some now, some of it is really hard work, and then there are bands like Pink Floyd and Focus that I really like.
What I like about King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – and this would be the same for fellow Aussie rockers Tame Impala and Pond – is that they are experimenting, but there’s a sense of mischief about it. Theirs are fun albums, at the same time as being beautifully indulgent. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizzard definitely feel like they are a band that would have ruled The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973.
Before Nonagon Infinity I had listened to a couple of their previous records. For example, Quarters is an album of EPs where every track is 10 minutes and 10 seconds long. For a band that is so wild and out there, they are formalists, in a way. I love their commitment to an idea. I really like their attention to the sleeves and their costumes and their whole audio presentation, especially coming out in this day and age, when that seems less important for young bands.
Nonagon Infinity came out last year and I got it on vinyl, but also on iTunes because if you put it on repeat, it loops around and starts again. Hang on a sec, I’m going to do it right now. (Heavy, heavy psych comes through the telephone). Yeah, the end of ‘Road Train’ – Track Nine – loops back into ‘Robot Stop’, the first track.
I’ve listened to this album a lot. Because of its structure, that it’s all one mix and never stops, it’s a great driving album, it’s a great running album. The standout track for me is ‘Gamma Knife’.
I saw them live at the Reading Festival. I went down with Nigel Godrich and Danger Mouse because they had just worked on the Chili Peppers album and Flea is in Baby Driver. We went over to the tent and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard played the album in order and the crowd were going nuts. About four tracks in Nigel said, “Hang on, is this all the same song?” They do tend to blend in. You could be forgiven for thinking you were hearing one long extended track, but my God does it rock.
