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Rating: By the third album in just over a year, I realized that the King Gizzard are only apparently a bunch of jokers who, in fact, possess remarkable skills, both in writing and instrumental abilities. It is hard to explain how they managed, in a musical landscape that can be described as nothing less than bulimic, to produce three completely different albums in a year, all of which are excellent.
If "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" started with a garage pretext to stage a delirious psychedelic opus, the following "Quarters" raised the insanity bar even higher, with 4 long suites of the same duration, between West Coast vibes and freeform delirium. So it was really hard to know what to expect from this "Paper Mâché Dream Balloon". An indication is already given by the artwork, halfway between a childlike bucolic picture and Wallace & Gromit; unsurprisingly, the music contained within largely reflects these graphic premises.
The only unifying trait between the three albums is the presence, here much more pronounced, of the flute played by the singer, who avoids any mannerism whatsoever (even though the guy is not exactly inexperienced with the instrument, FAR FROM IT) adding a gentle and dreamy note to these 12 sketches between folk, soft psychedelia, and quirky pop songs. The approach ranges from the almost jazz-like clarinet of the opening "Sense", through the Beatlesque "Bone" and "Dirt", a title track with a dreamy start that suddenly takes off on a donkey ride through the English countryside, to the Barrett-style lullabies of "Time=Fate" and the early Flaming Lips-style delirious melodies of "Most Of What I Like."
Two standout tracks. "Trapdoor", a hypnotic mantra-like pop song, impossible to get out of your head for at least a month and "The Bitter Boogie", a quirky blues introduced by a honky-tonk piano and carried with a memorable groove and equally memorable harmonica.
New Flaming Lips are growing.
Tracklist
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