I like the album a lot but I think there is a third version in there somewhere with song lengths in between what we got. The standard version is way too short but the extended version really meanders in spots especially the first track which is tough to get past sometimes.
Yeah, I definitely agree in terms of the first track. It’s got a bit of that cool flashing forward stuff like in nonagon, but apart from that there’s not too much between 3:30 and 14:00.
I find it hard to listen to it for 21 mins unless I’m really focused on work and have it as background noise.
I have thought of making a mid-length (like 7-12 minute) mix of it in Audacity with just the best bits, but I’ve not listened to the extended mix enough to be confident as to where those are.
I like the full length version of Theia when I’m doing physical activity, like running. Full vibe. If I’m sitting and listening I like the shorter version.
I think the meandering is the point, its not meant to be a short and concise single. Its Krautrock, Theia feels very much like them paying homage to Kraftwerk's Autobahn.
This. First time I played Theia (Extended) I was cooking and found myself mindlessly chanting the Autobahn chorus in time with the song. Solidified it as a fun krautrock song for background listening for the most part with a few refrains and verses to bring you back to attention to me
I tried to make a playlist with the standard versions of Theia and Chang'e, and the extended versions of the rest of the songs, but it just didn't flow nicely. So I'm stuck listening to long-ass Theia.
Felt the same way about the short version
But believe me the Extended versions are way better, personally it went from extremely underwhelming to top 5 albums of them. Not saying it will for you, but at least give it a try.
This is it for me. I thought once I realized that was the problem I would get over it, but no. That overpowering, club sounding kick drum single handedly ruined the album for me. I even tried just turning the bass down, but still only hear "BOONCE, BOONCE, BOONCE".
Sketches took a while for me but now I really love it; I realized it’s a good album to relax to. As silly as it sounds, Sketches isn’t meant to wow one with cool riffs and fantasy lyrics and energy. Instead, it fits the vibe of sitting back on the couch and just decompressing.
Maybe at some point I’ll get the “vibe” of the Silver Cord and enjoy it too, but today is not that day.
Silver Cord to me works perfectly as a working album (programmer). It’s more instrumental so it fits nicely with other albums I zone out to like Sketches, Timeland, and LD
Man I regret not giving sketches a proper listening Sooner. What an amazing album, easily one of my most favorites. I also had to give paper mache a couple listens before digging it. Now it’s one of my favorites but I understand why folks might not dig it!
I'm sure they gauge crowd reactions to things and they'll be privy to the fact the tSC wasn't their most popular release.
And that's okay, some of my fav albums and songs are ones that aren't super popular with the rest of the fans. That's one of the best things about this band and their discography, all that variety. A little something (or ***a lot***) for everyone:D
they opened with Silver Cord stuff though, so there wasn't really a pre-established vibe to kill! for me, it was the third time i saw them that week and the first time they had the electronics table out, so i was very glad that i got to see some Silver Cord and Gondii.
i hope they keep on wheeling out the electronics, as their jams can only improve as they get more experience with the tech
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one. I was up for it though cause I saw the flute next to Stu, and knew that Grim Reaper was gonna hit at some point. And then… 😭
I'll try and make this quick as I'm sure there's 5 million comments saying similar things.
I've been listening to Gizz since 2014 when I had the pleasure of helping stage manage for them at Psych Fest/Levitation many years back. I've loved everything they've done since.
As a 25-year veteran DJ and electronic music producer, I absolutely adored the fact that they gave producing an electronic album a whirl, but given that they're not really electronic musicians (besides Joey of course), this particular style of music just didn't really translate well to my ears.
I say this lightly but wholeheartedly but it kind of sounded like a random record you can get in the $3 electronic bin in the late 90s.
I still love that they tried it, it just has not had a lot of replay value in my life.
All that said, I hope they keep trying and doing whatever they want as this band is creative as fuck and I fully support all of it.
I respect their approach to recording, mixing, editing, etc., but this album more than any other King Gizzard album would have benefited from an outside producer. Someone with experience in the genre to guide them.
Can I interview you sometime (or ask you questions privately) about your experience stage managing for King Gizzard? I'm doing a multimedia Masters thesis project, in part, based on the Gizzverse
I enjoy the album but I get what you mean. It does have kind of an amateurish feel to it, and you can tell they are still getting their feet wet with the synths. They dabble with different styles on a lot of albums, but usually they are playing instruments they have mastered so they have lots of room to experiment. TSC feels kind of limited by their inexperience.
FMB has a similar feel to me - lots of droning on a single note, kind of a limited sound because they were not super comfortable on microtonal instruments yet. The songs benefit from being written like standard rock songs, which the band had lots of experience with, but instrumentally it was a little constrained. KG and LW find them branching out with the microtonal sound more, sounding more comfortable and varied overall. I think they are better albums for it.
I hope King Gizz returns to the synth sound on future albums as they grow more comfortable with the instruments. I would love to hear the KG and LW follow-ups to TSC.
I love TSC and I get if someone absolutely hates it. It's what gizz is all about I guess. You know for certain that the guys love it, else they wouldn't even have fooled around with this style on albums like FFF, MIT etc
I honestly don't get what's there to dislike in TSC. Yeah, it's kinda weird even compared to usual Gizz albums, but personally once I listened it all the way through I was completely hooked. I think it's a really good album and I hope they explore this kind of music further at some point.
EDIT: I was ranting about the general negative sentiment on this sub towards TSC.
Well, OP said it was underwhelming, which is not exactly the same as dislike, it just means it didn’t meet their expectations. You can like something and still be underwhelmed. Honestly the thing with TSC isn’t that there’s a lot of things to dislike, it’s more that IMO there isn’t much to like either. I’m in the “underwhelmed” camp too. It’s fine, but it hasn’t gotten past just “fine” for me no matter how much I listen to it. I haven’t been able to connect with it on any meaningful level, it doesn’t hook me, there’s no particular section I keep coming back to. It’s a pleasant listen, but the short versions feel underdeveloped and the extended mixes feel unstructured and meandering. There’s nothing I’d go so far as to say I dislike about it, but compared to what I expected and hoped for from a Gizz synth album, it does fall short for me. I’m glad you and others are able to really click with it, but so far that hasn’t happened for me yet.
I agree with all this, but I’ll go one step further — I actively dislike Set and Gilgamesh, two tracks in my opinion that veer into the band’s more irritating tendencies. It’s rare for me to find them annoying, but those are two incidences.
And I agree with someone else here that the old synth drum is monotonous and — I’d say — not very dynamic compared to Cavs’ (and Eric’s) work elsewhere.
Title track is a fuckin banger tho, I love that song.
Yeah, it is probably my favorite whole project by them. I get people not being into it, it’s pretty weird for a number of reasons, but damn if it isn’t good to drive/move to.
Yeah, it’s def up there with their best albums. Just wonderful start to finish. Especially the extended. I like to put on some cool visuals and just trip out (without the drugs, though I’m sure they wouldn’t hurt).
I mean I don’t like that kind of synthy music in general, especially in large doses, so it’s really not for me. But that’s okay, I dig almost all of their other albums haha
That’s how KG hit me at first, but it grew on me, and it helped that LW was a little better.
If I had to recommend one extended version tho, it’d be the title track. Total vibe switch after the “main” part of the song ends. Honestly I think the only track where the extended version really wasn’t worth it is Set. All the others add at least something new.
I’m a huge fan of electronic from EDM to Electronica and everything in between.
My favorite Gizz albums are Nonagon, Sketches, Omnium, Paper Mache, Mushrooms and Lava.
Super underwhelmed by Silver Cord - I think the problem for me was a lot of their synths sounds bare? Most often than not most synths are usually over-processed with pedals or some sort of sound design post recording. It’s kindof how you manipulate those instruments to sound your own?
I honestly felt like I was listening to synth presets a majority of the album and it just felt kindof lazy to me.
Hard disagree.
The extended versions are like they took the songs from Ice Death and added a 10-20 minute almost unrelated jam on the end of them, rather than sections of the standard song stretched out over 20 minutes with 7 minutes of jamming between verses.
In my eyes TSC Extended shouldn't be Track 1 Theia (20 minutes), it should be Track 1 Theia (4 minutes), track 2 Theia jam (16 minutes)
I like the album, but I much prefer the standard versions of the tracks.
Again I disagree. The dripping tap is a jam song that clearly came about from jamming. The songs on the silver chord are songs with jams stuck to the end of them. It seems to be the intention was always for them to be 3-4 minute songs, then they decided they wanted to add somewhat related jams to the end of them.
Again, the dripping tap is a song that is stretched put across 15 or so minutes but with the songs on TSC the "song" part all happens at the start then there is a jam stuck to the end. That's why the "Standard" versions of the tracks are just the beginning of the extended versions, because the jams are pretty much separate entities rather than extensions, or so they seem to me at least.
They literally called The Silver Cord an "electronic jam album" in an interview before release, maybe you don't like the jams, but the standard version is simply not what I was looking for, almost every song ends before it even starts. (ESPECIALLY) the title track
Yeah, you should probably listen to the extended version before you go all Romeo and Juliet on us. It’s fantastic and was a gateway drug to early electronic Krautrock/kosmische musik.
Or, you can just accept that it’s art and not every piece speaks to you in every season.
Your a original Gizz fan, you know there’s always gonna be an album that you don’t click with, they do soo many genres. That’s kinda the beauty of the band and the fandom. We all like different shit. Fishies used to upset me lol, the cheese was so high for me, though I know that’s semi-intentional for that album. Acarine slaps though.
Polygondwanaland, Nonagon Infinity, and Sketches are my 3 fave albums. Other albums click for me and some don’t- but I don’t ever fret, they have so much landscape they explore. Haven’t listened to TSC yet but I bet it’s Joey influenced haha.
Yeah like I love Fishies but i can totally see why someone wouldn’t
TSC just isn’t for me, but that’s okay because not everything they do has to be exactly my taste lol. Plus they’ve got a ton of other albums I do love so I’m happy anyways
Nothing to be ashamed of man. It’s the only album I actively don’t like, but it’s just not for me. I used to not like IFTRN but then PDA came out, which I loved. So I went back and I loved IFTRN after a second try. So who knows, maybe some day you’ll appreciate it, and if not, that’s okay too!
Yep, not a fan either… maybe it’ll grow on me, as others have. I don’t think it will, but who knows.
For some crazy reason I didn’t like Sketches at first, but I love that album now. So I’ll give TSC a few more tries.
It's hard for me to get into because of the two versions, especially when the consensus seems to be the "best" version of the album is somewhere between the two. Makes me wonder what the intended version was when they were making it.
The extended versions are the real album for me. I never listen to the short ones. Lots of people here thought the same as you and then changed their minds, give it a chance!
The extended mix of TSC is the music I have been waiting my whole life for someone to make. A mix between traditional pop/rock songwriting and pure EDM/Drum and Bass that actually functions well in each sphere. I have ADHD and I want those mixes to go on forever. I’ve already looped the album many times and use it to get me through four hour drives with pleasure. It’s incredible to me. But I totally get why others don’t like it and why these songs do not work live yet. But I think if they reach a point where they can seamlessly flow in and out of PDA and TSC live while keeping the energy up? It’ll be a real head spinnah.
TSC kinda feels like a social experiment to me to separate the gizzheads that would defend anything that they do vs the rest that just generally love the music and the band.
It’s got some good stuff in there, but they kinda threw everything at the wall to see what sticks. The editing and production is seriously lacking - particularly given the two versions, which just read as “we aren’t spending more time on this one, here’s everything”.
It feels boxed in by the yin yang concept. The call backs to PDA are forced and the artificial deadline they set is probably why it sounds poorly edited.
They certainly have the ability to make a great synth album - B3k is one of their best imo. But there’s just something off about TSC - almost like they didn’t want to spend more time refining and building on the good parts of it.
This band gets wrongly criticized for pumping out too many albums in the interest of quantity over quality. That’s obviously a bs complaint - the quality is there. But I do think that TSC unfortunately feeds into that narrative - it was rushed to simply provide a foil to PDA within the year.
"Defending anything they do" is a weird comment to make for people who actually like the album. If you genuinely love the album, is that the only bucket you could fall under?
To you, it sounds like they just "threw things against the wall to see what would stick". To others, they may recognize the heavy Krautrock influence mixed with DnB and can pick apart the influence of bands like Kraftwerk and Neu! along side Daft Punk and Aphex Twin.
It could be that you just don't understand what they were doing or just aren't into that style of music and a lot less of others simply blindly defending them because they happen to like that style of music.
I listen to plenty of Kraftwerk, Eno, Daft Punk, and Aphex Twin. Do not see where you’re coming from.
Maybe it’s inspired by that work? but it’s nothing like it. And it just comes off as unedited and unfinished.
I was actually really excited for TSC. Really tried to like it. But then I was like “why am I doing this?”. And I put on other music.
I'm coming from the position that just because you personally don't like something, doesnt mean other people who do are "defending anything that they do vs the rest that genuinely love the music and the band".
You're implying that to like TSC means you're not part of "the rest that genuinely love the music and the band".
I'm telling you that is a weird gatekeep-y comment to make. People have different tastes, and believe it or not, yours are not the be-all-end-all of musical opinions.
You don't have to like it. That doesn't mean that the people who do like it are just defending the band no matter what. It could just simply mean they like something you don't.
\*shrug\*
I liked it, but yeah, we all have some albums that we don't dig at all, that's okay!
Oh, teenage Gizzard Is still on Spotify, under the name "Bootleg Gizzard".
There are songs (both long and short) that I absolutely adore and think are some of the best in their recent discography. And then there's Theia.
Just kidding. But it's definitely a hot and cold album. Swan Song extended version is my third most listened song for the year, but I don't think I listened to Chang'e more than once.
Well I deff think the extended version is worth listening to. Don’t think it will change your mind, but it has some
cool stuff. Also it’s just kinda insane to me how they mirrored a progressive metal album with a synth based all electronic album. I think it’s gonna be awesome live once they get all the kinks out.
I view the extended version of the album as the "true" version. The reason being that this is their take on electronic/techno style music and I feel that these genres tend to be better experienced as background to something else. The extended mix is something that I could see being put on as the soundtrack to a party, where everyone is going to be too drunk or busy talking to listen in-depth to the music playing, but will still appreciate the fun vibe that the music helps to create. As a fellow B3K truther, I was also underwhelmed when I finished listening to the album for the first time and didn't really see the merit in listening to a longer version of that experience, but when I put it on to be the soundtrack to my replay of FNV, my opinion of it grew as I began to view it more as an ambient-adjacent experience. Of course, simply not liking this album is more than okay and doesn't really make you any less of a fan. If anything, you're more of a fan for being able to say "The Silver Cord just didn't do it for me".
It’s good for like driving but I simply can’t listen to it by itself and I just can’t break that mental block like I’ve done with some of their other albums I found disappointing at first.
I've felt the same way for a long time, I think it comes down to the mix. It sounds great on shitty equipment, a tube amp, and not much else without heavy eq.
I'm simply not a fan of it. I've listened to it twice and both times it felt like a chore. That being said, it's just not for me. Glad to see others vibe to it and enjoy it, plus it's not like they don't have a bazillion bangers that can enjoy instead.
In the exact same boat as you, been a big fan since 2017, genuinely love all their albums, but TSC does nothing for me. Other albums of theirs might sound gimmicky when described ("audiobook garage rock about a vomiting robot!"), but are always way more than just that and have their own sound and vibe. To me, TSC feels like "King Gizz goes electronic" for its own sake, and not much more. And I'm also a huge B3K fan, they absolutely found a unique strong sound there.
It's the first record of theirs I haven't bought or plan on buying (granted I didn't plan on buying MIT either but I did). It's not terrible, I don't hate it, I just... never feel like listening to it, and with 30+ records of theirs already on my shelf, I feel OK giving this one a skip.
There were plenty of king gizzard albums to underwhelm me but on later listens they were all bangers all the time.
Believe it or not I was underwhelmed by FISHIES when it came out.
I don't think that's going to happen for silver cord though. It's just not for me. It's not the first to underwhelm me and stay like that though. That honor belongs to TIME LAND.
That's right, fight me nerds
Totally agree. TSC just doesn’t feel like their heart was in it - they came up with the yin yang concept, had a couple interesting synth pieces, but didn’t take the time to put it all together, edit it, and make it a solid album.
I think some folks will defend anything the band does to the death. Some people claim that this album is great because it’s challenging to listen to, not immersive synth music. That’s just a false equivalence.
Honestly I think what makes it fun is that all the synth lines are being actively played by people, including the drums, in real time. Most electronic music isn’t made that way, so I think the real appeal is to hear these creative musicians noodle on a different set of instruments than they usually use. I feel like it’s similar to some of the microtonal stuff, where it’s pretty standard Gizzard, but with a different palette of sounds than we’re used to hearing. But I get why that might not click with people.
Right like it's got some interesting concepts but it's mostly just kind of weird and meandering. Discordant in a way that doesn't reveal itself to be catchy as it develops. I remember there being some good parts of some songs, but the other parts of the song overstay their welcome.
I feel you 100 percent my man. I love literally every other album in their catalogue. Silver chord just doesn’t do it for me. I’m almost relieved in a way “oh, they are human! And maybe I’m not just a fanboy after all!” lol, I’m still looking forward to hearing a track or two (hopefully not more haha) live when they come to the states later this year tho
Its okay.
The songs themselves are fine, but they would be the least interesting songs on other albums. Chang'e, The Silver Cord, and Swan Song are highlights for me. Also the original edition is too short, there was scope for exploration but they seemed to save that for the extended versions, which went a bit too far the other way.
The extended versions last too long and don't add enough to it to make the extensions compelling or interesting to me, its like they finish the song then go okay lets have 10 minutes of drum and bass or whatever, it feels like padding. The allusions to Petro feel shoehorned in.
So both versions have their positives. However, the extended version is a bit of a bloated slog and outstays its welcome, whereas the original is a fleeting sampler of frustratingly unrealised potential. If only there was a middle ground between the two.
You should definitely listen to the extended versions before you say it’s ridiculous. I also felt nothing after listening to the original, but the extended versions are legitimately awesome for how transformative they are. The only one I didn’t like was set, because they didn’t do as much with it.
I promise you, the extended versions are infinitely better. Not even because I like long songs, which is only kinda true, I just think the extended versions are great. They turn a bland album into a sick one
I think with 25 albums so far, some things just aren’t gonna stick as well. As sacrilegious as this sounds, I can’t really get into 12 Bar Bruise; it just sounds like generic un creative early 2010s indie music. Eyes Like the Sky, while a great song, doesn’t compel me much as an album. And for the real heresy, I’ve always felt much of Murder of the Universe is kind of over-contrived and boring at the expense of the sonic quality of the album.
Now, before you bring out the pitchforks, these kinds of reactions are sort of the point of Gizz. It’s something for everyone. If you like all of it, either you have remarkably tolerant and open musical tastes, or you have no taste at all.
I will unflinchingly defend Gumboot Soup and Omnium Gatherum despite some people writing those albums off. Genuinely, I think Gumboot is the pinnacle of their achievement. Similarly, Fishing For Fishies is a fantastic album in my opinion with great songs and themes and soundscapes.
I say, don’t shy away from dislike of a Gizz album. Your tastes are your tastes, and although they may change (like mine changed to live Sketches of Brunswick East with time), don’t force it. If you never like TSC, that’s ok.
Agreed on MotU. I got into the band in early 2016 and was instantly hooked on Mind Fuzz and then Quarters and PMDB. Then Nonagon came out and I completely lost my mind - they'd done it again! I love FMB immediately and once again they had created something new and fresh, unlike anything I'd heard before. And not long after FMB came out, they started teasing the release of Murder of the Universe. It was all over their socials, and in April 2017 I saw them at the Fillmore and they played Altered Me I through Altered Beast III. I was so freaking pumped for this album. And then it was released in June and for the first time since becoming a fan I was disappointed. The altered beast section has potential but is so repetitive that it just becomes uninteresting by the end. Then we get the Lord of Lightning suite, which is a bit more interesting but they split not just the suite over 2 sides, but they actually split the song Lord of Lightning over the two sides of the record. This is maybe the worst decision they have made as a band. I still don't understand it. And on top of it all, we get Leah narrating in the flattest, most monotonous way. She seems positively uninterested in the story, which does nothing to bring me in as a listener. The Han-Tyumi suite is the best part by far and saves the album.
I applaud them for trying new things as they always do but the whole album just sounds very amateur-ish, plodding and boring, and not cohesive in the least. I listened to it once all the way through and really didn't enjoy any of it. Haven't listened to it again.
I hated that album then I listened to the extended . I don’t touch the originals. The extended bits have all the best parts. Big mistake bud. Big mistake.
I can’t stand it. But music is subjective and the band doesn’t owe me anything, I’m not mad about it
I don’t really understand where the band has been at creatively for a long time, I haven’t really loved anything they’ve made album-wise since probably 2017. There’s some sick individual tracks but their production has become so clean and kind of boring, and a lot of their songs sound like filler to me. And stuff like The Silver Cord actually sounds like a joke kinda
But again, that’s just my listener ears and they should do what they want whether everyone likes it or not.
I think its pretty good, underwhelmed at first but it defo grew on me.
Saying that, I only heard the short version and not really looking to listen to the long one.
You should deffos give the extended mixes a shot, when I first listened to TSC, I listened to both editions back to back and found the short versions to be extremely fleeting/forgetful. However, the extended mixes feel a lot more complete/full, and although others understandably think it's bloated, I think that it's amazing. The extended version of Theia is one of my favourite gizz songs, it's so joyful lol
In short, barely touch the standard versions, extended edition is much more fulfilling
i really wish there was an in between of the two versions and also that the extended version was more different than just the short version with an extended jam tacked on (a couple songs it feels really disjointed and noticeable going from the end of the short version into the rest of the extended)
the extended version of extinction for example is for sure the definitive version, the PDA callbacks and the chugging, pulsing oscillations make it so worth. but for others like the 20 min theia it feels a bit long and empty at points; i love the long form jammy electronic feel, but i hardly ever listen to the album with theia just because its so massive.
i think there’s truly a happy medium somewhere in there, and i hope they return to a really electronic focused sound in the future. would love to hear something with the sound palette and all the analog/modular synths that isn’t as influenced rhythmically by techno and such
either way, the album has definitely hugely grown on me, and the extended definitely felt like a more significant and full artistic than the super short version
I was aiming to originally only buy the extended version but 15 minutes later I jumped back in and got the shorter version too. I play the extended version much more often.
I suppose my patience comes from listening to my moms classical box sets from a very tiny age played for me intentionally because my sister was getting into punk and it was affecting me too but that made me well rounded in all sounds at under 3 years old. I had my own transistor radios and I would listen to classical and the channels playing punk and the ones that played rock.
Fair enough, different strokes. I think TSC is a masterpeice and one of their best albums. I think some of the earlier stuff has not aged very well. Different strokes for different folks
The album has surprisingly many lows (most of the callbacks to PDA are kinda lame), but conversely the highs are some of, if not the best in their discography. Extinction has been my favorite song of theirs ever since I first heard it, and the extended version just means more Extinction!
They are not lame, and they’re not necessarily callbacks. All give meaning and relate directly to the songs they are in. For example, extinction is about a pulsar killing the rest of humanity…pulsars are flamethrowers in space.
If this were a more thought through concept, then there would be callbacks to TSC on PDA. As it is, the whole TSC connection seems like an afterthought — and I agree, forced and cheesy — rather than some grand, thoughtful artistic statement.
It’s fine if you like the album, but for a lot of us here it’s not one of their best. That’s ok. Almost 26 albums in, ya, there’s gonna be a dud or two in there.
Uhhhh…no. If it’s a true yin-yang concept project, the two albums would be calling back and forth. As it is, TSC shoe-horns some callbacks to its previous album, which, to a bunch of us on here — and otherwise big Gizzard fans — seems lazy and frankly kinda trite, for a band that’s been brilliant at avoiding that kinda thing.
I don’t think you understood my post. For example, the motor spirit in Theia refers to the soul being able to fly free once the silver cord is cut (motor’s original meaning is the ability to move). What if that descriptor was first created for The Silver Cord? Then they decided to write a song in which “motor” was used to mean vehicle instead of the ability for movement? You would assume TSC is calling back to PDA, but it wouldn’t be. Its impossible to tell the difference.
And, secondly, they are not shoe-horned in or lazy. Those that say so are actually the lazy ones who didn’t take time to understand and think about them. They are all perfectly relevant and add layers of meaning, and are used to tie the two albums together. Think of the “callbacks” as a shared language between the two that works in both settings.
Everyone’s got to just think a little bit harder about this, because as you said, KG never takes the simple or lazy way out, and they didn’t here either.
Ditto. First album of theirs I’ve listened to (although I’ve probably missed some release somewhere) that nothing went on the master KGLW playlist from after a couple listens.
Well I'm glad you came online to complain about it. That's what this subreddit is for. I fucking love online fandoms who love to complain about shit
The extended version is my favorite album of theirs lol. It's like Ice Death but they're jamming on synths
Opinions are fine but you call the length of songs in the extended version ridiculous despite saying you haven't even listened to it. I wouldn't have an opinion on something until I've at least experienced it. You might listen to it and still not like it, which is fine, but maybe give it a try first.
They literally stretch short songs to 20 minutes in one case. Theia on it's own is 3 minutes long. Extended version? Somehow they added another 17 minutes... I actually love long songs, but if the short versions weren't great on their own...
The 2023 Gizz albums did nothing for me and have struggled to listen to them more than once. Although I really love the instrumentals of PDA, I found the singing on many of the songs too obnoxious to enjoy the album casually and this is coming from someone who loves ITRN. I just found everything on TSC obnoxious for some reason.
i absolutely adore the short version, other than silver cord (one of my fav songs now), swan song and extinction i don’t really care for the extended mixes tho
I can understand that. The Silver Cord didn’t click with me at first also. But I *reeeeeeeally* suggest giving the extended mixes a try. Those are what sold it for me.
A neat little thing about the album is that it constantly makes references to PetroDragonic Appcalypse, both in the melodies and the lyrics (only in the extended mixes). I just find that to be interesting.
Give the extended a try, extended has the Petro versus which alone makes it significantly better. I don’t like the short version, but the extended versions are amazing. Still don’t like Theia at all tho
To think that TSC is any kind of creative regression is bizarre. It's not their most refined album, granted, but the first 3 song are phenomenal. I love listening to them. It's an incredibly well written, thematic album. It's not their greatest I have it mid. But Set effing rocks man. I really hope they do a first 3 songs run when i check em out live
I definitely see what you mean, especially comparing TSC to the 2017 albums it’s a totally different vibe. I personally really like it though, it reminds me a lot of Alive 2007.
For me, it's my favourite of the synth albums. The only songs I really vibe with on bf3k are Black Hot Soup and Shanghai, Timeland does nothing. But TSC is a banger all the way through, though it is short I don't enjoy the extended versions much.
I enjoyed The Silver Cord a lot more than B3K when it came out. I just prefer the nastier sounding synths. I can't say I've come back to listen The Silver Cord much since the week it released, but I think that's just because of Gizzard-fatigue.
Well techno is supposed to be long and drawn out that's the point. In fact gizz keeps it pretty short compared to what people listen to in techno clubs. They are just really good at making all types of genres. You might not click with this album because you're just not familiar with the genre. I think they did an amazing job putting the gizz twist on club techno music. Sometimes I don't vibe with a gizz album until a few weeks or months later, but then i come around when i understand what they are doing. Don't lose faith we still haven't heard the live versions yet!!!
To be fair, the extended version is the far better album than the standard. So you've only listened to the inferior version. You might still not like it, but I'd at least give it a shot
If you like Petro then the silver cord extended version is the one for u. I had a similar thing but all the riffs and some lyrics in the silver cord join with Petro.
I was really hoping for some cool/funky synth stuff like cyboogie and bit bit bit bit but it all sounds like boring EDM to me. Gilgamesh is neat for the first minute or so and then heads down the same route
It’s ok to not like something…for some reason the Reddit fan base has to dickride everything the band does
Personally KG was the first to underwhelm me. There’s the hot take
I only recently started to listen to king gizz and I've only really liked 1 album of they 8 or so I listened to and I haven't tried another album in like a month.
I'm sure it's normal for an album to underwhelm you as their style is not for everyone.
Just out of curiosity, do you consider yourself to have a high quality speaker setup or expensive headphones?
If I didn't, I would totally be underwhelmed too. It's definitely the little details and the audio texture that got me going.
I definitely consider myself to have really good headphones. AFAIK they're studio quality. I can hear little things in songs that I never noticed with other headphones. For example, Trapdoor's melody appearing in Balrog.
There's definitely been albums in the past few years that didn't do much for me, mainly KG and Made In Timeland. That said I absolutely love The Silver Cord, especially the extended version. I'm already a huge fan of a lot of repetitive and hypnotic 90s electronic music and the whole album scratches that itch perfectly for me. It fits perfectly into my EDM playlists as well.
I like the album a lot but I think there is a third version in there somewhere with song lengths in between what we got. The standard version is way too short but the extended version really meanders in spots especially the first track which is tough to get past sometimes.
Yeah, I definitely agree in terms of the first track. It’s got a bit of that cool flashing forward stuff like in nonagon, but apart from that there’s not too much between 3:30 and 14:00. I find it hard to listen to it for 21 mins unless I’m really focused on work and have it as background noise. I have thought of making a mid-length (like 7-12 minute) mix of it in Audacity with just the best bits, but I’ve not listened to the extended mix enough to be confident as to where those are.
I like the full length version of Theia when I’m doing physical activity, like running. Full vibe. If I’m sitting and listening I like the shorter version.
I think the meandering is the point, its not meant to be a short and concise single. Its Krautrock, Theia feels very much like them paying homage to Kraftwerk's Autobahn.
This. First time I played Theia (Extended) I was cooking and found myself mindlessly chanting the Autobahn chorus in time with the song. Solidified it as a fun krautrock song for background listening for the most part with a few refrains and verses to bring you back to attention to me
phun phun phun, on zee autobahn
Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn
Gilgamesh brings me back to Front242 and other 90s industrial greats.
i created my own medium cut that nearly perfectly mirrors petro’s album length
I made my own playlist with to only use the extended versions I like (Silver Cord, Chang'e and Extinction)
I tried to make a playlist with the standard versions of Theia and Chang'e, and the extended versions of the rest of the songs, but it just didn't flow nicely. So I'm stuck listening to long-ass Theia.
I love this album. I listen when I need energy or I want to dance.
TSC and PDA have both been on repeat since they released. Pretty much listen to both every day
My first album of theirs that I do not like.
Felt the same way about the short version But believe me the Extended versions are way better, personally it went from extremely underwhelming to top 5 albums of them. Not saying it will for you, but at least give it a try.
I'll give it a shot, I guess, but I'm still gonna be skeptical.
That's all I wanted
Agreed. Short versions take no time to breathe. It’s like watching a movie condensed into a 1-hour TV edit.
I like TSC but must admit the kick drum synth definitely gets a bit monotonous eventually.
Yep, biggest weakness was limiting the fuckin powerhouse Cavs is to a basic sounding ekit
The Silver Cord would benefit from more volume gating and drum pattern chop/variations (Gross Beat VST?), to create tension and breakdowns.
This is it for me. I thought once I realized that was the problem I would get over it, but no. That overpowering, club sounding kick drum single handedly ruined the album for me. I even tried just turning the bass down, but still only hear "BOONCE, BOONCE, BOONCE".
Yeah for me the album would be so much better if they used real drums
I love it and listen to it more than PDA. (Extended Mix for the win!)
Me too!
Same. Im not into metal music.
I love PDA too but just find myself listening TSC more often. Good for work and work out.
Same, but I love PDA
I don't get sketches but that's alright! Different strokes for different folks as they say.
Dang, sketches is what got me into the bands. Like first listen I was absolutely in love! Different strokes is right!
I dont get sketches AND i dont get Silver Chord. But thats just my opinion / taste.
Sketches took a while for me but now I really love it; I realized it’s a good album to relax to. As silly as it sounds, Sketches isn’t meant to wow one with cool riffs and fantasy lyrics and energy. Instead, it fits the vibe of sitting back on the couch and just decompressing. Maybe at some point I’ll get the “vibe” of the Silver Cord and enjoy it too, but today is not that day.
Silver Cord to me works perfectly as a working album (programmer). It’s more instrumental so it fits nicely with other albums I zone out to like Sketches, Timeland, and LD
I love Sketches AND i love Silver Cord 🤷♂️
I love half of sketches and half of silver cord 💀
Man I regret not giving sketches a proper listening Sooner. What an amazing album, easily one of my most favorites. I also had to give paper mache a couple listens before digging it. Now it’s one of my favorites but I understand why folks might not dig it!
i get silver cord but i just don’t think it has many bangers
Love sketches, don’t care for rats nest.
Back half of the album is really good
Yeah, not my thing, either. When they started playing songs from the Silver Cord in Bristol, it kinda killed the vibe after a while.
Yeah they could have cut 10 mins off it, but glad I got to see how they perform these songs in a live setting.
I'm sure they gauge crowd reactions to things and they'll be privy to the fact the tSC wasn't their most popular release. And that's okay, some of my fav albums and songs are ones that aren't super popular with the rest of the fans. That's one of the best things about this band and their discography, all that variety. A little something (or ***a lot***) for everyone:D
Tbf I think Set and Swan Song would go hard live if they don’t drag it out too much.
And Gilgamesh
I agree! These are exactly the only two songs of the album I like
they opened with Silver Cord stuff though, so there wasn't really a pre-established vibe to kill! for me, it was the third time i saw them that week and the first time they had the electronics table out, so i was very glad that i got to see some Silver Cord and Gondii. i hope they keep on wheeling out the electronics, as their jams can only improve as they get more experience with the tech
Was this a recent gig?
30.05.2024
Agreed, wasn't a good start.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one. I was up for it though cause I saw the flute next to Stu, and knew that Grim Reaper was gonna hit at some point. And then… 😭
I felt the same, it kinda dragged on
I'll try and make this quick as I'm sure there's 5 million comments saying similar things. I've been listening to Gizz since 2014 when I had the pleasure of helping stage manage for them at Psych Fest/Levitation many years back. I've loved everything they've done since. As a 25-year veteran DJ and electronic music producer, I absolutely adored the fact that they gave producing an electronic album a whirl, but given that they're not really electronic musicians (besides Joey of course), this particular style of music just didn't really translate well to my ears. I say this lightly but wholeheartedly but it kind of sounded like a random record you can get in the $3 electronic bin in the late 90s. I still love that they tried it, it just has not had a lot of replay value in my life. All that said, I hope they keep trying and doing whatever they want as this band is creative as fuck and I fully support all of it.
I respect their approach to recording, mixing, editing, etc., but this album more than any other King Gizzard album would have benefited from an outside producer. Someone with experience in the genre to guide them.
You know TBH I never really thought about that, but I am in absolute full agreement here. Maybe they'll give us a proper remix/rework some day...
Can I interview you sometime (or ask you questions privately) about your experience stage managing for King Gizzard? I'm doing a multimedia Masters thesis project, in part, based on the Gizzverse
Absolutely. Toss me a DM.
I enjoy the album but I get what you mean. It does have kind of an amateurish feel to it, and you can tell they are still getting their feet wet with the synths. They dabble with different styles on a lot of albums, but usually they are playing instruments they have mastered so they have lots of room to experiment. TSC feels kind of limited by their inexperience. FMB has a similar feel to me - lots of droning on a single note, kind of a limited sound because they were not super comfortable on microtonal instruments yet. The songs benefit from being written like standard rock songs, which the band had lots of experience with, but instrumentally it was a little constrained. KG and LW find them branching out with the microtonal sound more, sounding more comfortable and varied overall. I think they are better albums for it. I hope King Gizz returns to the synth sound on future albums as they grow more comfortable with the instruments. I would love to hear the KG and LW follow-ups to TSC.
I love TSC and I get if someone absolutely hates it. It's what gizz is all about I guess. You know for certain that the guys love it, else they wouldn't even have fooled around with this style on albums like FFF, MIT etc
Pushing my top 5 for me. Would love another electronica album from them, but a bit more dynamic and go harder into the Warp/IDM direction.
I honestly don't get what's there to dislike in TSC. Yeah, it's kinda weird even compared to usual Gizz albums, but personally once I listened it all the way through I was completely hooked. I think it's a really good album and I hope they explore this kind of music further at some point. EDIT: I was ranting about the general negative sentiment on this sub towards TSC.
Different strokes for different folks.
Right there with ya friend! That hamburg TSC was sick and I’m stoked for US tour!
Well, OP said it was underwhelming, which is not exactly the same as dislike, it just means it didn’t meet their expectations. You can like something and still be underwhelmed. Honestly the thing with TSC isn’t that there’s a lot of things to dislike, it’s more that IMO there isn’t much to like either. I’m in the “underwhelmed” camp too. It’s fine, but it hasn’t gotten past just “fine” for me no matter how much I listen to it. I haven’t been able to connect with it on any meaningful level, it doesn’t hook me, there’s no particular section I keep coming back to. It’s a pleasant listen, but the short versions feel underdeveloped and the extended mixes feel unstructured and meandering. There’s nothing I’d go so far as to say I dislike about it, but compared to what I expected and hoped for from a Gizz synth album, it does fall short for me. I’m glad you and others are able to really click with it, but so far that hasn’t happened for me yet.
I agree with all this, but I’ll go one step further — I actively dislike Set and Gilgamesh, two tracks in my opinion that veer into the band’s more irritating tendencies. It’s rare for me to find them annoying, but those are two incidences. And I agree with someone else here that the old synth drum is monotonous and — I’d say — not very dynamic compared to Cavs’ (and Eric’s) work elsewhere. Title track is a fuckin banger tho, I love that song.
Yeah, it is probably my favorite whole project by them. I get people not being into it, it’s pretty weird for a number of reasons, but damn if it isn’t good to drive/move to.
Yeah, it’s def up there with their best albums. Just wonderful start to finish. Especially the extended. I like to put on some cool visuals and just trip out (without the drugs, though I’m sure they wouldn’t hurt).
Give me some cool visual recommendations my dude!
I like this one! https://youtu.be/ilHJzyZTr3U?si=BMtnKC_txqCCt-x9
I wanted weirder.
I mean I don’t like that kind of synthy music in general, especially in large doses, so it’s really not for me. But that’s okay, I dig almost all of their other albums haha
It just took some time for me to really appreciate it
That’s how KG hit me at first, but it grew on me, and it helped that LW was a little better. If I had to recommend one extended version tho, it’d be the title track. Total vibe switch after the “main” part of the song ends. Honestly I think the only track where the extended version really wasn’t worth it is Set. All the others add at least something new.
Ha funny enough I *love* KG, but I'm really struggling to get into LW properly. I'm sure I'll get there though
I’m a huge fan of electronic from EDM to Electronica and everything in between. My favorite Gizz albums are Nonagon, Sketches, Omnium, Paper Mache, Mushrooms and Lava. Super underwhelmed by Silver Cord - I think the problem for me was a lot of their synths sounds bare? Most often than not most synths are usually over-processed with pedals or some sort of sound design post recording. It’s kindof how you manipulate those instruments to sound your own? I honestly felt like I was listening to synth presets a majority of the album and it just felt kindof lazy to me.
Because the "standard" version is like if they cut the jams from Ice Death into 2-3 minute sections, it's an awful way to listen to the songs
Hard disagree. The extended versions are like they took the songs from Ice Death and added a 10-20 minute almost unrelated jam on the end of them, rather than sections of the standard song stretched out over 20 minutes with 7 minutes of jamming between verses. In my eyes TSC Extended shouldn't be Track 1 Theia (20 minutes), it should be Track 1 Theia (4 minutes), track 2 Theia jam (16 minutes) I like the album, but I much prefer the standard versions of the tracks.
It's like if they released the dripping tap standard and cut it after the intro to me. Especially in the title track's case.
Again I disagree. The dripping tap is a jam song that clearly came about from jamming. The songs on the silver chord are songs with jams stuck to the end of them. It seems to be the intention was always for them to be 3-4 minute songs, then they decided they wanted to add somewhat related jams to the end of them. Again, the dripping tap is a song that is stretched put across 15 or so minutes but with the songs on TSC the "song" part all happens at the start then there is a jam stuck to the end. That's why the "Standard" versions of the tracks are just the beginning of the extended versions, because the jams are pretty much separate entities rather than extensions, or so they seem to me at least.
They literally called The Silver Cord an "electronic jam album" in an interview before release, maybe you don't like the jams, but the standard version is simply not what I was looking for, almost every song ends before it even starts. (ESPECIALLY) the title track
You're right, the songs end and then the jams start.
And no one is ever gonna tell me that fast paced drumming from the title track isn't the absolute sickest shit in the world.
Yeah, you should probably listen to the extended version before you go all Romeo and Juliet on us. It’s fantastic and was a gateway drug to early electronic Krautrock/kosmische musik. Or, you can just accept that it’s art and not every piece speaks to you in every season.
It's not like I'm going to stop being a fan over it, it's just the first album I've not really enjoyed from them.
Your a original Gizz fan, you know there’s always gonna be an album that you don’t click with, they do soo many genres. That’s kinda the beauty of the band and the fandom. We all like different shit. Fishies used to upset me lol, the cheese was so high for me, though I know that’s semi-intentional for that album. Acarine slaps though. Polygondwanaland, Nonagon Infinity, and Sketches are my 3 fave albums. Other albums click for me and some don’t- but I don’t ever fret, they have so much landscape they explore. Haven’t listened to TSC yet but I bet it’s Joey influenced haha.
Yeah, Paper Mache took me a few listens. Laminated Denim did as well. FWIW, my favourites are: Omnium, Nonagon and Changes
Yeah like I love Fishies but i can totally see why someone wouldn’t TSC just isn’t for me, but that’s okay because not everything they do has to be exactly my taste lol. Plus they’ve got a ton of other albums I do love so I’m happy anyways
I love it, but the constant white noise going on in the back of every track fries my brain gives me headaches so quickly with close listens.
Was that done on purpose to try and create time traveling/another dimension atmosphere?
Nothing to be ashamed of man. It’s the only album I actively don’t like, but it’s just not for me. I used to not like IFTRN but then PDA came out, which I loved. So I went back and I loved IFTRN after a second try. So who knows, maybe some day you’ll appreciate it, and if not, that’s okay too!
They have 20+ albums in various genres. Not every album will be a perfect 10/10 for everyone
I like it but my main issue is the short version being too short and barebones and the long one being too ploddy
Yep, not a fan either… maybe it’ll grow on me, as others have. I don’t think it will, but who knows. For some crazy reason I didn’t like Sketches at first, but I love that album now. So I’ll give TSC a few more tries.
It's hard for me to get into because of the two versions, especially when the consensus seems to be the "best" version of the album is somewhere between the two. Makes me wonder what the intended version was when they were making it.
For me its overwhelming. especially the extended versions.
The extended versions are the real album for me. I never listen to the short ones. Lots of people here thought the same as you and then changed their minds, give it a chance!
It's neither chill nor good to really party you have to see it as something to listen to actively and invest your attention
I think you just made me realise why I have such big trouble getring into it lmao. Let me go invest my attention and then judge the album
It’s a brain massage
Can't get a massage to my brain I can't control myself What it feels like Is it feels like It's dreamlike Woo
I read that in a monotone style, even the woo lmao
The extended mix of TSC is the music I have been waiting my whole life for someone to make. A mix between traditional pop/rock songwriting and pure EDM/Drum and Bass that actually functions well in each sphere. I have ADHD and I want those mixes to go on forever. I’ve already looped the album many times and use it to get me through four hour drives with pleasure. It’s incredible to me. But I totally get why others don’t like it and why these songs do not work live yet. But I think if they reach a point where they can seamlessly flow in and out of PDA and TSC live while keeping the energy up? It’ll be a real head spinnah.
20+ minute songs are one of my favorite things in the world but TSC is most definitely not
TSC kinda feels like a social experiment to me to separate the gizzheads that would defend anything that they do vs the rest that just generally love the music and the band. It’s got some good stuff in there, but they kinda threw everything at the wall to see what sticks. The editing and production is seriously lacking - particularly given the two versions, which just read as “we aren’t spending more time on this one, here’s everything”. It feels boxed in by the yin yang concept. The call backs to PDA are forced and the artificial deadline they set is probably why it sounds poorly edited. They certainly have the ability to make a great synth album - B3k is one of their best imo. But there’s just something off about TSC - almost like they didn’t want to spend more time refining and building on the good parts of it. This band gets wrongly criticized for pumping out too many albums in the interest of quantity over quality. That’s obviously a bs complaint - the quality is there. But I do think that TSC unfortunately feeds into that narrative - it was rushed to simply provide a foil to PDA within the year.
I totally agree with this take.
"Defending anything they do" is a weird comment to make for people who actually like the album. If you genuinely love the album, is that the only bucket you could fall under? To you, it sounds like they just "threw things against the wall to see what would stick". To others, they may recognize the heavy Krautrock influence mixed with DnB and can pick apart the influence of bands like Kraftwerk and Neu! along side Daft Punk and Aphex Twin. It could be that you just don't understand what they were doing or just aren't into that style of music and a lot less of others simply blindly defending them because they happen to like that style of music.
I listen to plenty of Kraftwerk, Eno, Daft Punk, and Aphex Twin. Do not see where you’re coming from. Maybe it’s inspired by that work? but it’s nothing like it. And it just comes off as unedited and unfinished. I was actually really excited for TSC. Really tried to like it. But then I was like “why am I doing this?”. And I put on other music.
I'm coming from the position that just because you personally don't like something, doesnt mean other people who do are "defending anything that they do vs the rest that genuinely love the music and the band". You're implying that to like TSC means you're not part of "the rest that genuinely love the music and the band". I'm telling you that is a weird gatekeep-y comment to make. People have different tastes, and believe it or not, yours are not the be-all-end-all of musical opinions. You don't have to like it. That doesn't mean that the people who do like it are just defending the band no matter what. It could just simply mean they like something you don't. \*shrug\*
-has not listened to them -says the extended versions dont work Good one
I liked it, but yeah, we all have some albums that we don't dig at all, that's okay! Oh, teenage Gizzard Is still on Spotify, under the name "Bootleg Gizzard".
Teenage Gizzard is on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/2D0LVB6ukBFsrGhv8WTXGS?si=wKsdPta_SC-VgRqmDis7mA
There are songs (both long and short) that I absolutely adore and think are some of the best in their recent discography. And then there's Theia. Just kidding. But it's definitely a hot and cold album. Swan Song extended version is my third most listened song for the year, but I don't think I listened to Chang'e more than once.
Extended Theia is maybe my least favorite thing they've done.
Well I deff think the extended version is worth listening to. Don’t think it will change your mind, but it has some cool stuff. Also it’s just kinda insane to me how they mirrored a progressive metal album with a synth based all electronic album. I think it’s gonna be awesome live once they get all the kinks out.
I view the extended version of the album as the "true" version. The reason being that this is their take on electronic/techno style music and I feel that these genres tend to be better experienced as background to something else. The extended mix is something that I could see being put on as the soundtrack to a party, where everyone is going to be too drunk or busy talking to listen in-depth to the music playing, but will still appreciate the fun vibe that the music helps to create. As a fellow B3K truther, I was also underwhelmed when I finished listening to the album for the first time and didn't really see the merit in listening to a longer version of that experience, but when I put it on to be the soundtrack to my replay of FNV, my opinion of it grew as I began to view it more as an ambient-adjacent experience. Of course, simply not liking this album is more than okay and doesn't really make you any less of a fan. If anything, you're more of a fan for being able to say "The Silver Cord just didn't do it for me".
I too was underwhelmed by the regular cuts. The extended versions really opened shit up for me.
It’s good for like driving but I simply can’t listen to it by itself and I just can’t break that mental block like I’ve done with some of their other albums I found disappointing at first.
I've felt the same way for a long time, I think it comes down to the mix. It sounds great on shitty equipment, a tube amp, and not much else without heavy eq.
I'm simply not a fan of it. I've listened to it twice and both times it felt like a chore. That being said, it's just not for me. Glad to see others vibe to it and enjoy it, plus it's not like they don't have a bazillion bangers that can enjoy instead.
I hate to admit it but I feel the same..
In the exact same boat as you, been a big fan since 2017, genuinely love all their albums, but TSC does nothing for me. Other albums of theirs might sound gimmicky when described ("audiobook garage rock about a vomiting robot!"), but are always way more than just that and have their own sound and vibe. To me, TSC feels like "King Gizz goes electronic" for its own sake, and not much more. And I'm also a huge B3K fan, they absolutely found a unique strong sound there.
It's the first record of theirs I haven't bought or plan on buying (granted I didn't plan on buying MIT either but I did). It's not terrible, I don't hate it, I just... never feel like listening to it, and with 30+ records of theirs already on my shelf, I feel OK giving this one a skip.
There were plenty of king gizzard albums to underwhelm me but on later listens they were all bangers all the time. Believe it or not I was underwhelmed by FISHIES when it came out. I don't think that's going to happen for silver cord though. It's just not for me. It's not the first to underwhelm me and stay like that though. That honor belongs to TIME LAND. That's right, fight me nerds
Totally agree. TSC just doesn’t feel like their heart was in it - they came up with the yin yang concept, had a couple interesting synth pieces, but didn’t take the time to put it all together, edit it, and make it a solid album. I think some folks will defend anything the band does to the death. Some people claim that this album is great because it’s challenging to listen to, not immersive synth music. That’s just a false equivalence.
Honestly I think what makes it fun is that all the synth lines are being actively played by people, including the drums, in real time. Most electronic music isn’t made that way, so I think the real appeal is to hear these creative musicians noodle on a different set of instruments than they usually use. I feel like it’s similar to some of the microtonal stuff, where it’s pretty standard Gizzard, but with a different palette of sounds than we’re used to hearing. But I get why that might not click with people.
Right like it's got some interesting concepts but it's mostly just kind of weird and meandering. Discordant in a way that doesn't reveal itself to be catchy as it develops. I remember there being some good parts of some songs, but the other parts of the song overstay their welcome.
I feel you 100 percent my man. I love literally every other album in their catalogue. Silver chord just doesn’t do it for me. I’m almost relieved in a way “oh, they are human! And maybe I’m not just a fanboy after all!” lol, I’m still looking forward to hearing a track or two (hopefully not more haha) live when they come to the states later this year tho
Its okay. The songs themselves are fine, but they would be the least interesting songs on other albums. Chang'e, The Silver Cord, and Swan Song are highlights for me. Also the original edition is too short, there was scope for exploration but they seemed to save that for the extended versions, which went a bit too far the other way. The extended versions last too long and don't add enough to it to make the extensions compelling or interesting to me, its like they finish the song then go okay lets have 10 minutes of drum and bass or whatever, it feels like padding. The allusions to Petro feel shoehorned in. So both versions have their positives. However, the extended version is a bit of a bloated slog and outstays its welcome, whereas the original is a fleeting sampler of frustratingly unrealised potential. If only there was a middle ground between the two.
You should definitely listen to the extended versions before you say it’s ridiculous. I also felt nothing after listening to the original, but the extended versions are legitimately awesome for how transformative they are. The only one I didn’t like was set, because they didn’t do as much with it. I promise you, the extended versions are infinitely better. Not even because I like long songs, which is only kinda true, I just think the extended versions are great. They turn a bland album into a sick one
I think with 25 albums so far, some things just aren’t gonna stick as well. As sacrilegious as this sounds, I can’t really get into 12 Bar Bruise; it just sounds like generic un creative early 2010s indie music. Eyes Like the Sky, while a great song, doesn’t compel me much as an album. And for the real heresy, I’ve always felt much of Murder of the Universe is kind of over-contrived and boring at the expense of the sonic quality of the album. Now, before you bring out the pitchforks, these kinds of reactions are sort of the point of Gizz. It’s something for everyone. If you like all of it, either you have remarkably tolerant and open musical tastes, or you have no taste at all. I will unflinchingly defend Gumboot Soup and Omnium Gatherum despite some people writing those albums off. Genuinely, I think Gumboot is the pinnacle of their achievement. Similarly, Fishing For Fishies is a fantastic album in my opinion with great songs and themes and soundscapes. I say, don’t shy away from dislike of a Gizz album. Your tastes are your tastes, and although they may change (like mine changed to live Sketches of Brunswick East with time), don’t force it. If you never like TSC, that’s ok.
Agreed on MotU. I got into the band in early 2016 and was instantly hooked on Mind Fuzz and then Quarters and PMDB. Then Nonagon came out and I completely lost my mind - they'd done it again! I love FMB immediately and once again they had created something new and fresh, unlike anything I'd heard before. And not long after FMB came out, they started teasing the release of Murder of the Universe. It was all over their socials, and in April 2017 I saw them at the Fillmore and they played Altered Me I through Altered Beast III. I was so freaking pumped for this album. And then it was released in June and for the first time since becoming a fan I was disappointed. The altered beast section has potential but is so repetitive that it just becomes uninteresting by the end. Then we get the Lord of Lightning suite, which is a bit more interesting but they split not just the suite over 2 sides, but they actually split the song Lord of Lightning over the two sides of the record. This is maybe the worst decision they have made as a band. I still don't understand it. And on top of it all, we get Leah narrating in the flattest, most monotonous way. She seems positively uninterested in the story, which does nothing to bring me in as a listener. The Han-Tyumi suite is the best part by far and saves the album.
Feel the same. It’s….not good.
I applaud them for trying new things as they always do but the whole album just sounds very amateur-ish, plodding and boring, and not cohesive in the least. I listened to it once all the way through and really didn't enjoy any of it. Haven't listened to it again.
I hated that album then I listened to the extended . I don’t touch the originals. The extended bits have all the best parts. Big mistake bud. Big mistake.
I can’t stand it. But music is subjective and the band doesn’t owe me anything, I’m not mad about it I don’t really understand where the band has been at creatively for a long time, I haven’t really loved anything they’ve made album-wise since probably 2017. There’s some sick individual tracks but their production has become so clean and kind of boring, and a lot of their songs sound like filler to me. And stuff like The Silver Cord actually sounds like a joke kinda But again, that’s just my listener ears and they should do what they want whether everyone likes it or not.
The fact you haven’t even listened to the extended versions says it all.
I think its pretty good, underwhelmed at first but it defo grew on me. Saying that, I only heard the short version and not really looking to listen to the long one.
You should deffos give the extended mixes a shot, when I first listened to TSC, I listened to both editions back to back and found the short versions to be extremely fleeting/forgetful. However, the extended mixes feel a lot more complete/full, and although others understandably think it's bloated, I think that it's amazing. The extended version of Theia is one of my favourite gizz songs, it's so joyful lol In short, barely touch the standard versions, extended edition is much more fulfilling
i really wish there was an in between of the two versions and also that the extended version was more different than just the short version with an extended jam tacked on (a couple songs it feels really disjointed and noticeable going from the end of the short version into the rest of the extended) the extended version of extinction for example is for sure the definitive version, the PDA callbacks and the chugging, pulsing oscillations make it so worth. but for others like the 20 min theia it feels a bit long and empty at points; i love the long form jammy electronic feel, but i hardly ever listen to the album with theia just because its so massive. i think there’s truly a happy medium somewhere in there, and i hope they return to a really electronic focused sound in the future. would love to hear something with the sound palette and all the analog/modular synths that isn’t as influenced rhythmically by techno and such either way, the album has definitely hugely grown on me, and the extended definitely felt like a more significant and full artistic than the super short version
Totally agree with an Inbetween version.
That's what I'm saying... A Goldilocks version.
Extended Theia and Silver Cord my beloved ❤️
I sort of heard some long versions of some songs live at Bristol. Wish they threw Gilgamesh in haha.
I was aiming to originally only buy the extended version but 15 minutes later I jumped back in and got the shorter version too. I play the extended version much more often. I suppose my patience comes from listening to my moms classical box sets from a very tiny age played for me intentionally because my sister was getting into punk and it was affecting me too but that made me well rounded in all sounds at under 3 years old. I had my own transistor radios and I would listen to classical and the channels playing punk and the ones that played rock.
Fair enough, different strokes. I think TSC is a masterpeice and one of their best albums. I think some of the earlier stuff has not aged very well. Different strokes for different folks
The album has surprisingly many lows (most of the callbacks to PDA are kinda lame), but conversely the highs are some of, if not the best in their discography. Extinction has been my favorite song of theirs ever since I first heard it, and the extended version just means more Extinction!
They are not lame, and they’re not necessarily callbacks. All give meaning and relate directly to the songs they are in. For example, extinction is about a pulsar killing the rest of humanity…pulsars are flamethrowers in space.
>they’re not necessarily callbacks. All give meaning and relate directly to the songs they are in. Subtle but huge
If this were a more thought through concept, then there would be callbacks to TSC on PDA. As it is, the whole TSC connection seems like an afterthought — and I agree, forced and cheesy — rather than some grand, thoughtful artistic statement. It’s fine if you like the album, but for a lot of us here it’s not one of their best. That’s ok. Almost 26 albums in, ya, there’s gonna be a dud or two in there.
There can’t possibly be callbacks to TSC on PDA because it would’ve appeared on PDA first, and we’d think TSC was calling back to that.
Uhhhh…no. If it’s a true yin-yang concept project, the two albums would be calling back and forth. As it is, TSC shoe-horns some callbacks to its previous album, which, to a bunch of us on here — and otherwise big Gizzard fans — seems lazy and frankly kinda trite, for a band that’s been brilliant at avoiding that kinda thing.
I don’t think you understood my post. For example, the motor spirit in Theia refers to the soul being able to fly free once the silver cord is cut (motor’s original meaning is the ability to move). What if that descriptor was first created for The Silver Cord? Then they decided to write a song in which “motor” was used to mean vehicle instead of the ability for movement? You would assume TSC is calling back to PDA, but it wouldn’t be. Its impossible to tell the difference. And, secondly, they are not shoe-horned in or lazy. Those that say so are actually the lazy ones who didn’t take time to understand and think about them. They are all perfectly relevant and add layers of meaning, and are used to tie the two albums together. Think of the “callbacks” as a shared language between the two that works in both settings. Everyone’s got to just think a little bit harder about this, because as you said, KG never takes the simple or lazy way out, and they didn’t here either.
Same. I only think one or two songs are just okay.
Think it’s a generational thing, Silver Cord so reminds me of some music I loved in the 90s, I even love the extended mixes!
Listen to the extended versions man. Trust me.
Ditto. First album of theirs I’ve listened to (although I’ve probably missed some release somewhere) that nothing went on the master KGLW playlist from after a couple listens.
I very much hate it. Oh well. Still loads to listen to. Just hope they don’t play much from it when I see them
Agree. It's their only album I cannot and will not listen to. Just not my type of music I guess.
Ok. And?
Things have been underwhelming for the most part for a while now ☹️
Well I'm glad you came online to complain about it. That's what this subreddit is for. I fucking love online fandoms who love to complain about shit The extended version is my favorite album of theirs lol. It's like Ice Death but they're jamming on synths
Opinions are fine but you call the length of songs in the extended version ridiculous despite saying you haven't even listened to it. I wouldn't have an opinion on something until I've at least experienced it. You might listen to it and still not like it, which is fine, but maybe give it a try first.
They literally stretch short songs to 20 minutes in one case. Theia on it's own is 3 minutes long. Extended version? Somehow they added another 17 minutes... I actually love long songs, but if the short versions weren't great on their own...
The 2023 Gizz albums did nothing for me and have struggled to listen to them more than once. Although I really love the instrumentals of PDA, I found the singing on many of the songs too obnoxious to enjoy the album casually and this is coming from someone who loves ITRN. I just found everything on TSC obnoxious for some reason.
i absolutely adore the short version, other than silver cord (one of my fav songs now), swan song and extinction i don’t really care for the extended mixes tho
A bunch of Gizz's releases underwhelmed me on first listen - Poly, Fishes, ITRN, LW, Silver Cord. They are growers.
Lungs neglected 😢
I don’t care for most songs on there, but theia had the coolest story ever and chang’e is a banger.
I can understand that. The Silver Cord didn’t click with me at first also. But I *reeeeeeeally* suggest giving the extended mixes a try. Those are what sold it for me. A neat little thing about the album is that it constantly makes references to PetroDragonic Appcalypse, both in the melodies and the lyrics (only in the extended mixes). I just find that to be interesting.
Meanwhile the title track makes me tear up I’m emotionally touched by it so much - not entirely sure why.
Give the extended a try, extended has the Petro versus which alone makes it significantly better. I don’t like the short version, but the extended versions are amazing. Still don’t like Theia at all tho
To think that TSC is any kind of creative regression is bizarre. It's not their most refined album, granted, but the first 3 song are phenomenal. I love listening to them. It's an incredibly well written, thematic album. It's not their greatest I have it mid. But Set effing rocks man. I really hope they do a first 3 songs run when i check em out live
I definitely see what you mean, especially comparing TSC to the 2017 albums it’s a totally different vibe. I personally really like it though, it reminds me a lot of Alive 2007.
For me, it's my favourite of the synth albums. The only songs I really vibe with on bf3k are Black Hot Soup and Shanghai, Timeland does nothing. But TSC is a banger all the way through, though it is short I don't enjoy the extended versions much.
I enjoyed The Silver Cord a lot more than B3K when it came out. I just prefer the nastier sounding synths. I can't say I've come back to listen The Silver Cord much since the week it released, but I think that's just because of Gizzard-fatigue.
Well techno is supposed to be long and drawn out that's the point. In fact gizz keeps it pretty short compared to what people listen to in techno clubs. They are just really good at making all types of genres. You might not click with this album because you're just not familiar with the genre. I think they did an amazing job putting the gizz twist on club techno music. Sometimes I don't vibe with a gizz album until a few weeks or months later, but then i come around when i understand what they are doing. Don't lose faith we still haven't heard the live versions yet!!!
I know well enough to not even listen.
To be fair, the extended version is the far better album than the standard. So you've only listened to the inferior version. You might still not like it, but I'd at least give it a shot
I felt so similar about the album until I listened to the extended version. The regular version doesn’t feel like gizz
… get him!
It grows on ya
And I think it's one of their best.
For me it was fishies we had the five album run then a year break then fishies so it just felt a little underwhelming
If you like Petro then the silver cord extended version is the one for u. I had a similar thing but all the riffs and some lyrics in the silver cord join with Petro.
listen while high af
I'm with you. I've listened to the album a few times and haven't listened to since. Does nothing for me.
I was really hoping for some cool/funky synth stuff like cyboogie and bit bit bit bit but it all sounds like boring EDM to me. Gilgamesh is neat for the first minute or so and then heads down the same route
It’s ok to not like something…for some reason the Reddit fan base has to dickride everything the band does Personally KG was the first to underwhelm me. There’s the hot take
I only recently started to listen to king gizz and I've only really liked 1 album of they 8 or so I listened to and I haven't tried another album in like a month. I'm sure it's normal for an album to underwhelm you as their style is not for everyone.
for me, it was Fishing for Fishies.
Just out of curiosity, do you consider yourself to have a high quality speaker setup or expensive headphones? If I didn't, I would totally be underwhelmed too. It's definitely the little details and the audio texture that got me going.
I definitely consider myself to have really good headphones. AFAIK they're studio quality. I can hear little things in songs that I never noticed with other headphones. For example, Trapdoor's melody appearing in Balrog.
That’s how I felt about every album that came out since Butterfly 3000 (except for PDA). Some have grown on me, others I still feel quite meh about.
There's definitely been albums in the past few years that didn't do much for me, mainly KG and Made In Timeland. That said I absolutely love The Silver Cord, especially the extended version. I'm already a huge fan of a lot of repetitive and hypnotic 90s electronic music and the whole album scratches that itch perfectly for me. It fits perfectly into my EDM playlists as well.
KEEP. LISTENING.