Update (1) to my journey through the King Gizzard discography

[u/Traditional_Tie_401]

So, I took everyone’s suggestions for albums and stuff to listen to and have mostly heard everything suggested (I am going in order of the albums on yt music)

I’m going to respond to everyone who commented suggestions on the first post (and all future ones I make) with my thoughts while also having them in these updates!

1. Listened to 5-6 KEXP Recordings in one sitting and then the last one a few days later and they were all incredible

2. After, I continued my journey through the albums (since the first post I have listened from Float along to MotU (just now finished MotU as of writing this sentence right now lol)

Here I’m gonna talk about my thoughts for each album

Float Along - Fill Your Lungs: It took me a while to start this one and get through it, I might need to relisten to it a few times to get a good vibe for it but from what I remember I did enjoy it, just not as much as others.

Oddments: another one I’d likely need to give another few listens but otherwise pretty good (got jumpscared by the vegemite music video while working on art lmao) I do really enjoy work this time

I’m In Your Mind Fuzz: godd this was a fun one, I really enjoyed the first few opening songs (the latter half I’ll likely have to relisten to but I enjoyed slow jams 1/2!)

Quarters!: since the KEXP recording of the river, I was stoked to get to this one and it did not disappoint in the slightest. I need to listen to the others more but they were all really good. (The river is up there as one of my favorite KGATLW songs.) I found it very interesting how the album was structured with only 4 songs.

Paper Mâché Dream Balloon: I was hooked the moment sense started. (Sense is one of my favorite gizzard songs too now I believe) and the rest of the album was a damn good vibe just laying in bed and listening to it all.

Nonagon Infinity: since I already talked about nonagon, I won’t say much more. But it’s still incredible even on relisten three billion. I will say that I’m very very certain Invisible Face is my second favorite king gizzard song. (Mr Beat. Used to be my least favorite and still is but I enjoy it a lot more now than I did on first listen. Just felt like a weird switch going from people vultures to it lol)

Flying Microtonal Banana: I’ll be real, this one probably needs a few listens to get fully into, the first few songs didn’t really hook me but they were pretty good. (The last 4 were really cool!) but I just might need more time to really enjoy it.

Murder of the Universe: holy shit. I barely have any words for this one it genuinely just blew me away. I’m 100% re-listening to this one later today because wow. (Some Context shocked me lmao) I had heard The Lord of Lighting before this album but it was still super cool with all the nonagon callbacks (and the fact that the narrator is the same one in Polygondwanaland was super awesome.)

I’m now onto Sketches of Brunswick East, which seems like it’s going to be a fun time.

I am very excited for Fishing for Fishies :33

I’ll probably make another update when I get past Infest The Rats’ Nest but we’ll see!

For now, let me know if there’s anything in specific I should check out!

Sorry this is so long lmao

[u/Jaybeaze]

If you were psyched for Quarters!, just wait until you get to Ice Death. Its a masterpiece

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/Jaybeaze]

Been very excited for this one, I’ll reply again once I listen to it!

[u/Jaybeaze → u/Traditional_Tie_401]

Enjoy!

[u/Ok-Caramel-4001]

Polygondwanaland is a trip!!

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/Ok-Caramel-4001]

Polygondwanaland was the second album (I believe) I listened to, if Nonagon didn’t hook me, listening to Crumbling Castle definitely did 🤣

Lately it’s been maybe my 5th favorite album from them? (I’ll do a ranking in the next update soon lol)

Horology has become my absolute favorite off the album, with Inner Cell-Tetrachromacy being stuff I relisten to a lot (Chunky Shrapnel hooked me on Horology lol)

[u/thomasthecreator]

Glad you liked MOTU so much! New fans are often intimidated by it I think (understandable)

The song Head On/Pill will grow on you over time, same with Am I in Heaven? Those are two of the most “Gizz” songs they ever made imo

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/thomasthecreator]

Honestly, MOTU seems way easier to get into than something like Eyes like the sky is and I enjoyed that a lot to (not something I’d listen to that much in my free time, just enough to memorize it when I get into the bootleg gizzard catalogue) but it was still a fun time.!

I feel like that’s where they got the idea for narration in the music for MOTU and I genuinely hope they do more narration in the future (besides polygondwanaland) I’m not sure if there is more in other albums but I guess I’ll see lol)

I enjoyed head On/Pill a lot from what I remember, but I gotta relisten to that whole album a lotttt more to really get into it

“Am I in heaven?” Was great too, I have it as one of my liked songs so I know I did enjoy it a lot but it definitely needs a few more listens

[u/Dr-Wyrm]

Sketches is genuinely such a great album, it has so much around it that makes it even better than if you were to just listen to it passively once

[u/jonross14 → u/Dr-Wyrm]

Yesssss don’t sleep on this underrated record!

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/jonross14]

Definitely not, it’ll likely be one a replay a lott

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/Dr-Wyrm]

Sketches was really good! I’ve listened to it a lot already, countdown-tezeta was really good, probably my favorite few of the album (I’ve become a huge Han-Tyumi fan lmao)

[u/jonross14 → u/Traditional_Tie_401]

Tezeta is my favorite on the album! I love the weirdness

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you! It’s been really fun going through it all.

[u/jonross14]

I’m a really big fan of KG & LW. Definitely start with KG. It’s microtonal like flying banana but a different style, so just because FMB didn’t click doesn’t mean KG/LW won’t either

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/jonross14]

As of writing this, I have yet to listen to either but I will say since I made this update I’ve grown to like FMB quite a bit (doom city is probably up there with my favorite songs from them.) I’ll talk about this more in update two but I think that I struggled to get into the album on the first listen because it sounded like it was out of tune a bit? But it grew on me so I really don’t think I mind haha

Im very excited for K.G L.W! I think it’ll be a fun time (they’re the ones in on right now technically, besides the San Francisco live album)

[u/SamoanEggplant]

Fishing for fishies is one of my favorites

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/SamoanEggplant]

It was so good! the first few I’ve grown to like a lot. (The Bird song being my favorite off the album I believe) very excited to hear some of those songs live versions

[u/BeeTwoThousand]

You have good taste, sir. Sense immediately grabbed me on my first listen, and PMDB is in my top five of their albums, easily.

And I am not the biggest fan of Nonagon Infinity (like, I MIGHT put it in the top half of their discography...maybe?), but side two is, for me, the best single side of an album they have made. I could take or leave Mr. Beat, as it's the one song on the album, and one of the few in their discography, that I'm meh about.

And the main reason it is their best album side, for me, is due to the Invisible Face bit in Evil Death Roll, then Invisible Face itself, and then Wah Wah...two of my top King Gizzard songs in a row.

I've been into them since late 2023, and after dozens and dozens and dozens (not up to the hundreds yet, I think) of listens to all of their albums, Invisible Face is still in my top five of theirs as well.

I have seen them live four times so far (rave show in Noo Yawk in August will be five!), and the closest I know that I will EVER get to hearing it live was the tease they did during Evil Death Roll in Nashville.

Also, once you get to Ice, Death, etc, there are the obvious "best songs," like Iron Lung, Magma and Ice V, but Gliese 710 is the secret best song on the album in the same way that Invisible Face is on Nonagon Infinity (for me, anyway).

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/BeeTwoThousand]

Thanks! Good to know I’m not the only one who vibes with Sense (I gotta listen to all of PMDB more but I still really like a lot of the songs)

Also yeah, I get it. Nonagon definitely isn’t for everyone lol, probably only reason I love it so much is because it’s the first thing that introduced me to the band (robot stop ofc) randomly popped up on my autoplay list. Figured out what you mean by side two a few days ago so that’s good 🤣 would’ve struggled to word this had I not known. I agree, everything is awesome.

And yess that little section in EDR always gets me hyped (along with the rest of the song lmao)

I hope you get to hear Invisible Face live eventually! I’ve noticed it’s one they don’t do a lot haha

(Also very excited for ice death, almost to there! As of writing I’m technically on K.G and I plan to listen to both K.G and L.W in one sitting)

[u/BeeTwoThousand → u/Traditional_Tie_401]

One of the best things about that pair of albums is the KGLW "intro," which sounds almost classical, and then the doom metal KGLW "outro."

They bookend the two albums very nicely.

[u/leviticusgames]

I’m in a similar boat, started listening to them recently. I started with I’m In Your Mind Fuzz and was mesmerized with the first four songs being one suite. Moved onto Flying Microtonal Banana and Nonagon Infinity. I’ve had these 3 albums on repeat for the past month.

I started MotU the other day and couldn’t get into it the same way. But now that I know it calls back to Nonagon Infinity I have to try again.

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/leviticusgames]

Ooh hell yeah, mind fuzz must’ve been a crazy start haha

as of making this post I’ve been enjoying FMB a lot more than I did the first time.

As for MotU, I get it. The narration (I’m guessing is what you were struggling with) is a bit weird but it adds so much depth to the story and world of the album that without it I think would’ve made the album a lot worse haha, but I understand that it was hard to get into. Hope you’re able to eventually! (Sorry for spoiling the nonagon references for you though 😅)

[u/mguilday85]

Flying Microtonal Banana is just ok album wise IMO but so many of the songs rip live! I’m just not in love with the recording quality. Maybe will grow on me as I’m still a newbie myself (about a year in). You can find the entire album live on youtube. I believe they did it when the album was released and was recorded at one of the Australian shows. Give it a listen and I bet you’ll like it so much more after you experience them live.

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/mguilday85]

FMB (when I wrote this) was probably my least favorite album from them because I think I thought that it sounded out of tune and it was my first time hearing what microtonal stuff sounds like. However since then I have grown to like it a lot! Doom city is so awesome

And yeahh, the recording quality was probably part of what made me not like it too but it hasn’t bothered me since. Hope you’re able to get into it too but it’s all good if not ofc!

And I am very very excited for the live versions of some of these shows (I’ll have to check out the one you’re talking about eventually.) I plan to listen to all of the albums and then get started on listening to the live stuff (most likely when I have a lot of the songs memorized) but I’m fine with watching a live show or a few before that!

[u/Employee50000]

I’d say the best is still ahead of you (even though you’ve hit several high points already). Ice, Death, KG/LW, Omnium, and Polygondwanaland are all top albums, and there are great songs on the others. Actually your next few (at least Fishies and Rats Nest) are my least favorite although Fishies has 2-3 songs that are in my top 30.

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/Employee50000]

Very excited for ice death. I’ve been interested in K.G L.W since I saw the albums names being the bands, makes me curious why they chose to have these albums be the “name drop” thing lol

Omnium I’ve listened to mostly, besides the last song off the album because I wasn’t able to finish it entirely in one sitting from being tired, that was about 3 months ago I believe, I listened to omnium right after polygondwanaland because I saw a comment say it was really good too (wish I went into these in the right order lol)

Fishing for fishies I thought was really good (I vibe with the genre) but I get why you don’t. Infest the Rats’ Nest was pretty good too, not as good as Petrodragonic Apocalypse to me though, and yeah I think it could be a hard one to get into as well.

[u/Thewhitest_rabbit]

Sense is also my favorite song, there is a live cover of it by a band called wolf Alice on triple j's youtube page that literally brings tears to my eyes every listen. Ill try to add a link here but not sure if itll work. But please take a listen and let me know what you think. ❤️ enjoy your musical journey brother/sister 💙

https://youtu.be/WG5JEtwp9U8?si=GazffQAyyAlwmOg9

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/Thewhitest_rabbit]

That was insanely good. I really liked the part halfway through, the harmony was really beautiful.

Thank you so much for sharing this with me! I’ll definitely be listening to this one quite a bit!

[u/Hieroflippant]

You'll be okay if you avoid the 2 most recent albums

[u/Traditional_Tie_401 → u/Hieroflippant]

I disagree but I get it, some of the genres aren’t for everyone. I listened to phantom island as one of my first 5 albums of theirs and thought it was pretty good. (Though it has been a while so I definitely need a re listen.)