#8 on the 2024 Bacon Top 31 — Cheekface

January 24, 2025 by Royal Stuart in Top 31, 2024

It’s Sorted by Cheekface

I like humor in music. In the Top 31 so far this year we’ve got Father John Misty (over the top crooner), King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (good ol’ boys), Vulfmon (downright silly), and even yesterday’s artist, MJ Lenderman, is humorous in his own ironic, lyrical way. The band here at #8, LA’s Cheekface, excels at dry, matter-of-fact humor – the exact kind of humor living in today’s uber-politicized world requires.¹ To whit:

I just want to be popular to watch
In the movie you put on from the camera on your porch
Your across-the-street neighbor walks his dog on TV
The future is now, unfortunately
And if I’m never, ever gonna be alone
Here in my community neighborhood home
Then I wanna be popular to watch
In the movie you put on from the camera on your porch

That, dear friends, is the chorus for “Popular 2,” my favorite song from Cheekface’s 4th rockin’ album, It’s Sorted. I can’t describe what a sense of accomplishment I felt when I was able to finally sing that verse word-for-word by memory. It’s so good! Is this musically challenging, ground breaking music? No! Does it make me smile, repeatedly, on every listen? Yes! Do I regularly put exclamation points in my reviews? No! Does Cheekface make me want to use exclamation points? Yes!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t handle a lot of what’s going on in the world right now. Music has the magical power to take you in all kinds of directions: sadness, elation, anger, happiness, emotional, gleeful. Which direction is not necessarily the point, as long as that direction is away from the right now. Cheekface’s magic is that they keep you mostly grounded in the right now, with blunt reality tinged by dry, direct delivery, while still managing to pull you away to some new reality where the absurdity of life is humorous.

The song “Don’t Stop Believing,” very similar to “Indian Summer” by Beat Happening, features the lines “Everyone cool will die. Everyone weird will also die. What lives on is the destruction caused my market economics. Being unique does not fit neatly into the grid of corporate needs. Still, I work like a dog doing a dog day’s work, and who could blame me? I live in a society.” There is nothing funny about those lives. They’re bleak and sad. But lead singer Greg Katz’s baritone delivery is comical. He stumbles over himself trying to cram in the line about working like a dog. It doesn’t fit the beat, but he successfully pulls it off.

The chorus for “Plastic” goes like this: “Everything is gray now, do you like it? You know I only want it if you want it. Whatever you need now, we can make it out of plastic.” These are not song lyrics, this is a letter from a pen pal who’s on the verge of a mental breakdown. The bridge of the same song is a call-and-response with “Is there recycling?” followed by “It’s sorted.” It doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to make me smile.

I first covered Cheekface for their great third album, Too Much to Ask at #22 in 2022. Here we are two years later and that album still sees regular airplay in my home, along with It’s Sorted. “Life in a Bag” (featured in the video above) is one of many highlights across the album. Each song I listen to as I write this review compels me to put the lyrics here in writing – they’re all just so nonsensical but somehow make all the sense in the world. But I’ll stop – just go listen to the damn thing yourself and watch the lyrics as you do.

You can meet the entire band (Greg Katz on lead vocals and guitar, Mandy Tannen on backing vocals and bass, and Mark “Echo” Edwards on drums) by watching the It’s Sorted Album Commentary the band put out in support of the record. One of the more amazing and endearing things about the band is they self-release and self-promote everything they do. The band is very active on social media, their albums come out on Katz’s own New Professor Music record label, and they have toured extensively for the short few years that I’ve known of them.

I saw Cheekface in 2022, missed them last year, but am excited to get to see them again, at Neumos on May 23. Based on the number of “5th album” talk happening in their social posts and on the band’s hosted Discord, I’m confident their next album will be out by then. At the show, there will be lots of singing along, shouting at key moments, likely Katz leading us in some guided dancing, like we are the puppets and he holds the strings. Cheekface shows are very interactive. And the best part? I am very confident that my cheeks will hurt from smiling by the end of the show. Maybe that’s why they call themselves Cheekface.

^{1. Wikipedia take all the fun out of describing the fun that is Cheekface: “The group's songs, characterized by [lead singer Greg] Katz’s talk-singing, are typically short and lyrics-driven with a dry sense of humor and tend to share a thematic interest in anxiety and sociopolitical unease.” ↩}

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#14 on the 2024 Bacon Top 31 — Sunset Rubdown

January 18, 2025 by Royal Stuart in Top 31, 2024

Always Happy to Explode by Sunset Rubdown

I have an infatuation with Spencer Krug, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist, and creative force behind Sunset Rubdown, whose fifth album Always Happy to Explode has risen with a bullet all the way up to #14 on my Top 31 of 2024. If you don’t recognize Krug’s name, you’ll probably recognize his voice. Go ahead and hit play on the video above, for the song “Reappearing Rat.”

My infatuation with the man is plain as day: I’ve written about Krug numerous times, thanks to his efforts as half of the singing/songwriting of Wolf Parade, as well as his solo-ish work as Moonface. Those two Krug projects have appeared on my Top 31 six times: #17 in 2010, #27 in 2011, #23 in 2013, #14 in 2017, #31 in 2018, and #26 in 2020.

Krug, 47, from Penticton, British Columbia, first hit my radar on Wolf Parade’s 2005 album Apologies to the Queen Mary, and I loved Sunset Rubdown’s 2006 and 2007 albums, Shut Up I Am Dreaming and Random Spirit Lover, respectively, as well as Wolf Parade’s 2008 album At Mount Zoomer. In my inaugural year of Top 31s (2009) I somehow missed Sunset Rubdown’s album Dragonslayer, but nearly every other album release that Krug has been a part of in the ensuing years has ended up in my Top 31 (his three true solo albums released in the Covid years 2021-2023 barely missed the cut as well).

His voice is entirely unique, unlike any other singer you’ll hear. While I can’t define his voice by saying that he sounds like any other singer, it’s easier to compare his voice to the not-unpleasant sound of a cat whose tail has been stepped on. (The sound of his voice is not-unpleasant, but I’m sure the cat whose tail gets stepped on feels much different). And in case you couldn’t tell from the wealth of albums and bands mentioned above, the man is prolific. He’s been a part of 26 album releases since 2002, an average of more than one album a year – not the same pace as King Gizzard, but he’s close.

This great new Sunset Rubdown record, Always Happy to Explode, is coming at us a full 15 years after the previous Sunset Rubdown album. When they released Dragonslayer in 2009, they soon thereafter disbanded quietly. No official announcement, but also no hint of anything new coming out. Of course Krug had his many other alternative creative outlets he was able to tap into in the ensuing years, with no real reason to go back to the Sunset Rubdown well. But then, according to Wikipedia, Krug had a dream in which a reunion with the band did happen and it was enjoyable. So he acted on that dream, called up his previous bandmates, and together they decided to put a tour together, because why not? That was 2023.

From the success of that tour came the drive to record together. Krug has maintained a Patreon account since 2019, where he releases a newly-written song every month. From those songs, the Sunset Rubdown crew chose nine songs to recombine and rework and record, and thus we now have a fantastic new Sunset Rubdown record.

It must be magical to be in Spencer Krug’s creative circle. To be given a call, out of the blue, to suggest you join him on tour, have a great time, and then, hey, let’s get in the studio and remake some of these 60 songs I’ve self-released over the last five years. I want to be in that circle, but I’m no musician. So I’ll gladly take all the creativity he puts out into the world and consume it with fervor. I don’t yet subscribe the Patreon, but I’m about to change that. He’s given me lots of joy over the last 23 years, and it’s the least I can do to repay him. That, and gushing about him here on The Bacon Review. Enjoy the music!

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#20 on the 2024 Bacon Top 31 — King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

January 12, 2025 by Royal Stuart in Top 31, 2024

Flight b741 by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

As I wrote in my entry for the band here at #20 in last year’s Top 31 for their two 2023 albums (at #5 last year), I was only recently indoctrinated into the lighthearted cult that is King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Now that another full year has passed since I wrote that, I am fully vested in the band. To whit: I jumped on their latest album, the phenomenal Flight b741, and devoured it as soon as it came out in August; I got to see the band perform a balls-to-the-wall 3-hour set at my favorite summertime venue, The Gorge; and I’ve now bought a ticket, a flight, and a hotel room for a one-night excursion to see the band in another city (San Diego) in 2025. I am 100% all in.

Go back and read last year’s entry (linked above) to learn more about the band and their 15-year history. As is their wont, Flight b741, their 26th album (and surprisingly, the only album they released in 2024), is completely unlike either album they released in 2023. Gone is the barking, driving rhythms of heavy metal and the techno-centric bleeps and bloops. In its place, there’s wailing harmonica, high-energy fuzzed-out guitar, and swinging southern-blues rock & roll. Forget Metallica and Animal Collective, and instead think of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Black Crowes. It’s a complete 180, but it’s expected from KGLW, and it’s great.

Thus is the power of King Gizzard. These six guys from Melbourne have a knack for adaptation and synthesis. To my ears (admittedly still in elementary school when it comes to KGLW), the only consistent sound across their albums is the “wooo!” from the band’s most consistent frontman, Stu Mackenzie¹.

After having spent many Memorial Day weekends at the Gorge in the 00’s and 10’s for the best-ever music festival (Sasquatch), it holds a special place in my heart. When I saw King Gizzard play there in September, that feeling came back — not just because of the venue, but because of the breadth of music played by the band. With 26 albums in their catalog, and so many genres to pull from, you’d think you’d get a bit of whiplash going from genre to genre to genre. But instead, you’re guided along, each song feeling like it belongs with the previous and the following, as if the band is some aural trail guide taking you on a previously unexplored adventure. We left there feeling as if we’d been to a full music festival, rather than having seen a single band peform.

KGLW also did something completely unheard of for last year’s tour: they had a multi-camera film crew stream every show live on the web for free. And afterwards, anyone could choose to host the live video on their own YouTube channel, again, for free. Eventually the band put the livestreams up on their own YouTube channel (watch “Live at the Gorge ’24”). I found out as I was researching for this article, in the link description for that Gorge performance the band posted the full high-quality audio files from the show for download, again for free. They also provided a separate Dropbox link to be able to download the stems from the show – meaning, anyone could have Cavs’ (Michael Cavanagh’s) drums, or Ambrose Kenny-Smith’s² keyboards singled out from the 3-hour performance, to remix and use however they see fit. All for free. This type of overabundance of goodwill towards their fans goes a long long way in creating the kind of adoration from their fans that evokes the “cult” label.

While being prolific on the tour circuit, they were pretty subdued on the recording front. They’ve only produced one video for Flight b741, linked above, for the song “Le Risque.” But it’s a good video, and it shows just how much fun these guys have together. I’m jealous.

Despite only releasing one album in 2024, later in the year the band released a non-album track called “Phantom Island” and announced that they indeed did have another album in the hopper, that was recorded at the same time as Flight b741:

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A post shared by kinggizzard (@kinggizzard)

And that is why I will be flying to San Diego to see them perform later this year – in promotion of the yet-to-be-released album, they’ll be touring with a full 28-piece orchestra, and they decided they weren’t bringing the orchestra anywhere near the Pacific Northwest. So, to them, I go, because of course I do.

It feels as if eventually everyone will become a fan of KGLW. They are infectious, and they produce so many different kinds of music, they’re bound to land on something you like. If you didn’t like last year’s albums, give this year’s album a try. And if that’s not your bag, maybe their 2025 release(s) will float your boat. It’s ok if it takes time; I know eventually everyone will come around.

^{1. A quick aside here to give a shoutout to the anonymous writer on Mackenzie’s wikipedia entry, who quipped, “Mackenzie formed King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard as a casual band for his friends in the Melbourne music scene to play together in without needing to rehearse or practice. They have since recorded 26 studio albums.”↩}
^{2. I’m ashamed to admit I never did get around to listening to Ambrose’s side-project album he made with Jay “GUM” Watson, called Ill Times, but I’ve heard good things about it.↩}

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#5 on the 2023 Bacon Top 31 — King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard

January 27, 2024 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation and The Silver Cord by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Without doing any actual research, I would assume that more often than not, a band’s debut album is where most of us start listening to a band. A debut album often takes years to make, the culmination of songs written and crafted with long-time school friends into a cohesive whole. But maybe you missed their first record, or they hadn’t found their groove yet, so it’s their sophomore record that really hooked you. There are some stellar third albums out there that have gotten me hooked – Radiohead’s OK Computer comes to mind. But never, and I mean never has it taken until a band’s 24th and 25th album for me to finally notice them. But King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are anything but typical.

I’ve known of King Gizzard for a long time, mostly thanks to a couple of good friends who have continually tried to convince me that this crazy group of Australians who are saddled with the somewhat negative label “jam band” are actually good. Pete and Ryan — I hereby declare that you were right. I’m sorry to have ever doubted you. Hailing from Melbourne, the band is made up of six multi-instrumentalists: Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Joey Walker, Cook Craig, Lucas Harwood, and Michael Cavanagh, all of whom sing in addition to playing too many different instruments to name.

The band has only been around since 2010 and they released their first album in 2012. 24 albums in the following 11 years and it’s clear they are in desperate need of an editor. They are a jam band unlike any other. The genres listed on their wikipedia page are quite varied: psych rock, garage rock, prog rock, and heavy metal, just to name a few.

Let’s look at the two stellar albums they’ve released this year. PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation is a heavy metal album “about humankind, and it’s about planet Earth, but it’s also about witches and dragons, and shit,” according to Mackenzie. This is the album that finally hooked me. The song “Gila Monster,” shown in the video above, is the best song from the album, but it is a head-banging, prog-rock masterpiece that would feel at home in any Tool fan’s collection. The Silver Cord, a true “double album” — with a standard version that runs 28 minutes and an extended version that has longer versions of the same seven songs runs 88 minutes. That’s nearly two hours of music, not that I’m counting. But where PetroDragonic Apocalypse has multiple guitars blaring at every turn, the electropop album The Silver Cord doesn’t have a single guitar on it. This album feels much more like an Animal Collective record. Much like Taylor Swift and her Swifties, the band loves to plant easter eggs and other puzzles within their music, creating a running thread of conspiracy theories and lore throughout their fandom. These two albums are no different – despite sounding wholly different, they are meant to be complementary, a yin and yang. The extended version songs on Cord feature direct callbacks to songs from Apocalypse.

I love a band that is clearly having the most fun doing what they do. Watch the video above for “Gila Monster,” or the other two videos they’ve released from these two albums, for “Dragon” and a three-song “Theia/The Silver Cord/Set,” and you’ll see how ridiculous they can be. They’re very over the top, and everybody knows it. But when you produce fantastic music, people are willing to accept a large amount of ridiculousness from your orbit (again, much like Taylor Swift).

What really sold me on the band was getting to experience them live in late spring 2023. The repeated listenings of Apocalypse and some choice records from their discography in the buildup to the show; the buzz of the fans before, during and after the show despite the torrential downpour for most of it, and even the unexpected early cutoff that clearly angered the band (speakers were cut at 9pm sharp – I guess the band missed that part of the contract when they signed up to play at a farm not accustomed to entertaining thousands of blissed-out showgoers) – all of it culminated in one of the most memorable show-going experiences I’ve ever had.

I get to see them at the Gorge later this year, in late September, where in the past I’ve experienced thunderstorms and extreme winds, blistering heat and bitter cold – who knows what is in store? But I know it’s going to be amazing, and I just can’t wait.

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#23 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Goose

January 09, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Dripfield by Goose

Jam bands aren’t my thing. They’re a lot of other people’s thing, but not mine. I understand, intellectually, why people like jam bands, start to obsess about their favorite one, and eventually become Deadheads, Phish Phans, or Gizzard Wizards (these names may be entirely fabricated), finding themselves following their favorite jam band around the world to continually worship at the feet of their chosen god. But unlike the guilt I feel when not listening to Big Thief, I feel no guilt for not having fallen in with the jam band scene.

Goose, from Norwalk, Connecticut, are proving to be the catalyst for a shift in my thinking. Not only is Dripfield, really, really good, but I also got to experience them in their true form this past summer: live, in person, at Thing festival just outside Port Townsend, Washington. Both the album and the experience have left me changed, softer on my stance regarding jam bands, and open and ready to explore more. My jam-band-aficionado friends — you know who you are — are not-so-silently rejoicing.

I’ve not listened to Goose’s first two albums: 2016’s Moon Cabin and Shenanigans Nite Club from 2019. But from what I’ve read, those albums were mere stop-gaps to getting the band back out on the road. In true jam-band fashion, they slowly built a following based on consistently good live shows, almost in spite of their recorded work. Part of that following involved Ezra Koenig, lead singer/songwriter of long-time Bacon Review favorites Vampire Weekend. Koenig likes the band so much, he asked them to create a 20 minute, 21 second-long remix/cover of Vampire Weekend song “2021” from Father of the Bride (#3 in 2019) for their 2021 EP, 40:42.

All that performing work over a five year span allowed Goose to hone a near-perfect 60-minute set to record for in studio for their 2022 release, Dripfield. The band’s third full-length album is, even by the band’s own admission, their first real album. It has a number of gems, including ”Hungersite,” shown in the video above. A personal favorite is the first track on the album, “Borne,” and the title song is pretty great as well. All three of these songs have the band at their best (despite the visual side of the videos being a touch on the boring side): lead singer Rick Mitarotonda’s smooth vocals and solid, guitar-driven hooks along with multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach’s keyboards rounding out the top end while the rhythm section (Ben Atkind on drums, Jeff Arevalo on percussion, and bassist Trevor Weeks) drive the songs deftly forward.

Hearing these songs as recorded in the studio is nice, but hearing them performed live is otherworldly. The band’s day one headliner slot at Thing festival this past August couldn’t have been better: their set time followed a pair of perfect openers in Sparks and Father John Misty (another Bacon Review favorite), clear skies with a stiff breeze coming in from Puget Sound, and a crowd of thousands enjoying their much-needed freedom after a couple years of pandemic-forced introversion. Goose played eight songs in their 90-minute set, each clocking in at well over 10 minutes long. It was a thing of beauty.

I walked off the festival grounds that night a changed man. I had been shown the light of the jam band experience, and I was left wanting more. That’s the Goose way. Join me in my newfound excitement! Check out their wonderful album Dripfield, and then book tickets to see them when they come to Seattle in April. Maybe I’ll see you there.

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24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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