3 out of 5

Label: KGLW

Produced by: Stu Mackenzie

Man, even for KGLW, this is a slab of music. And initial reaction at the rating aside, it is a solid slab, packed with psychedelic funk from start to finish, hitting on plenty of familiar (and rewarding) aspects of the group’s general style, while also satisfying their seemlessly tireless shtick of finding wiggle room within that style to experiment on album after album. And as I’ve reiterated with them: they are a group that have proven they can do this and remain relevant; it’s in their DNA. So while not every release may be an out-and-out win, I find myself revisiting their “off” outings more than I might with groups who only take a one-album detour for some kind of concept, as even a KG album that wanders or perhaps derails ultimately ends up having its fair share of value.

And with Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava, that value is in its peaks – which are very, very high – and its theme of evolution and destruction, as told via songs struck through with nature references as per the album title, giving the lyrics (and album tone) a push toward intriguingly bleak territory. While I think this makes some of the tracks stall, I still dig how it affected the music, hanging out in a mid-range that darts and dodges about – not jammy, like Laminated Denim, rather just… kind of open-ended – and allows for a darker texture to things, without the overt edge of Rats’ Nest. The words, as constructed by the group and not just Stu, follow this template: there’s a daisy-chain stream of consciousness to things, aimed toward an eventual endpoint.

That “eventual” is where the concept of this hits some lulls. All the tracks are pretty lengthy, and there’s a macro ebb and flow to this, where the beginning, middle, and end of the album are much more expressive – psychedelic joy fueling the feel-good bop of the opener (although, again, check the lyric sheet for how we’re blending some blissed out visuals with doom-laden thoughts); a blistering, angular vibe as we hit our midpoint, and also the album’s shortest and most focused track, Lava; and an epic sense of release as we get into the closer – in which we’re celebrating the destruction of this damned planet, baby. Now, true, on an album with only seven tracks, that doesn’t leave much room for lows versus these highs, but by the same token, the average song runtime is like nine minutes, so when we’re playing around with less decisive – if enjoyable – tracks, the time can tick by a bit, and because it is such a parabolic experience, those unengaging stretches are pretty noticeable.

Circling back around, though, being a KGLW album, I’m still putting this on repeat, and able to appreciate how those tracks I may feel don’t stand out are configured into the listen, and furthermore can’t be said to be tossed-off by any means. In other words, and paraphrasing things I’ve also repeated: King Gizzard’s leftovers could easily be the highlights for a band with a less frequent string of hits.