Like many others in 2017, I have been awed and astounded at King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's rapid (and highly quality) release schedule over the course of 2017. They're making a big splash, getting a lot of attention, and they deserve every bit of it. It's not like they are musically reinventing the wheel or anything: they sound a LOT like Motorpsycho, except with more of a Bob Welch-era Fleetwood Mac + 1970-71 Gentle Giant fixation. However, they do what they do so well that they can't help but stand out. Vocals, production, songwriting - everything's inventive, fresh sounding and very much on the money when it comes to execution. And at the end of the day, execution is the only thing that ultimately matters in an album.

Polygondwanaland is their 4th release this year, accompanied by a bold proclamation that it would forever be FREE in every sense of the word. Evidently, I could start up my own record label tomorrow, put this album on CD, and start making money off it without legal repercussions. Looking at the music industry today as a massive chessboard, its one helluva move to make as they continue to rise up in popularity.

Amidst all this rigamaroll, perhaps the least surprising thing about Polygondwanaland is that its arguably the best of the four albums they've released this year. The songs flow like a great suite on the back of Lucas Skinner's bouncy Rickenbacker basslines, undulating in a symphony of flutes, fuzz pedals and even what sounds like a Mellotron. Another standout is the skittering, almost Tool-esque 'Horology' near the tail-end of the runtime...well, Tool as interpreted by King Crimson in 1970 perhaps. Easy to love, hard to hate. Unless you hate fun or something.

Anyway, these guys are moving up in the world. Wayyy up. And I'm glad to be part of the ride at this point.