recent music obsessions numba two

[puffin]

hiii

okay it's been about a month since the first one so i wanted to do another one of these. i've been listening to a bunch of stuff recently so i got some good picks >:)

number 1: "ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space" by spiritualized



"ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space" is one of the most mind-blowing albums i have ever heard. i had listened to one spiritualized album before this, 2022's "everything was beautiful" and i enjoyed it but it didn't knock my socks off. fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when i was listening to some hawkwind, and i decided to look for some more good space rock. "ladies and gentlemen..." came up and i decided to listen to it.

it was about 3 in the morning and i was pretty sad. i don't think i could've picked a better album. "ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space" is one of the most beautiful albums i have ever heard. it's incredibly sad, being about both addiction and heartbreak, but it also felt like a warm hug.

the title track is both beautiful and iconic, being the only song i had definitely heard prior. there are also some bangers like "come together" and "electricity". where the album really shines is in songs like "i think i'm in love", broken heart", and especially "cool waves" (my favourite song on the album). these songs are heart-wrenching and mind-blowing. the orchestral arrangements on this album are phenomenal and fit in so well with the more rock-y songs. the album closes with the 17 minute long opus "cop shoot cop". i can't even really describe it, it's an experience.

i've only listened to the album a couple times at this point, because it's definitely not a casual listen, but i can definitely see it going down as one of my all time favourites. just do yourself a favour and listen to it :)

number two: "mammoth" by king buffalo



after putting "dead star" by king buffalo in last months post, i listened to their most recent album: regenerator. it was... amazing. from the title track, to "mammoth", "firmament", and everything in between its just fantastic. i definitely recommend it.

BUT for the purposes of this post i'm just gonna be talking about the song "mammoth", my favourite from the record. the first half of the track is mostly build up, but i love the lyrics here:

"my father was a faceless man / leaving me a nameless man / marching through meadows dressed in white / so i try to reach the hills beyond / every day i venture on / riding a mammoth through the snow"

the song really lets loose in the second half. drums, bass, and guitar are all on point. i love the part right in the middle where the song cuts down to just the bassline. superb stuff. the guitar solo is an all-timer as well, leading right into the ending which has these absolutely epic vocals and keys that sound like a god singing from the sky while i'm being lifted into the afterlife. i love this band!!

number three: "UMMON" by SLIFT



following up from king buffalo here's another heavy psych trio that i'm really into right now: SLIFT. their album "UMMON" is absolutely awesome and again i highly recommend it. for now i'll just be talking about the title track, specifically this live version of it (which is also on spotify... amazing live album too).

i just wanna say that it is AMAZING how much sound these guys get out of just one guitar and one bass. the drums are also great and make the song surprisingly danceable for how heavy and spacey it is. this song- the whole album really, feels like witnessing the a war between gods in space or something it's just crazy. i mean hell look at this room they're in like wtf its so sick lol



i would also really recommend checking out this KEXP performance of "lions, tigers, and bears", probably my favourite song on the album.

number four
okay so to finish this post here's my gizz pick of the month :) the king gizzard song i've been obsessed with recently is... "pleura"



this is from the same album as my pick from last week, "o.n.e." (its literally the next song on the album lol) and i also saw it live when i saw king gizzard in october. i listen to this song daily, if not more than that. it has quickly become a top 10, even top 5 king gizzard song of all time for me, and it is definitely my favourite microtonal song. the song is one of their most overtly political and of-its-time (probably only behind evilest man, which name drops rupert murdoch), being about covid and people in power not being held responsible for their actions. it even references trump:

"suck the life from what you love / i learnt that from the orange one"

i love the writing on "pleura" in general, it's kinda cheesy but it is super catchy and such a fun song to sing along to. the combination of joey and stu on vocals in the song is amazing and adds so much to the song's atmosphere. this song kinda has halloween vibes to me lol.

the bassline is insane, and i love how the song has that drop to silence near near the beginning and then sort of has a fakeout ending. the music video version i linked above is super fun and i love how raw it is, but the studio version is definitely better. i love how it fluctuates between acoustic and electric guitars and the flute section adds a lot for me. idk i just love this song lol

thanks for reading o/




ps: sorry if my writing is weird i'm baked lol