Shake Appeal is a column that highlights new garage and garage-adjacent music. This time, Evan Minsker looks at new albums from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Bad Indians, Paperhead, Icky Boyfriends, and Cool Ghouls.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: I'm in Your Mind Fuzz [Castle Face]
They've given you several chances to jump on board—four albums plus a handful of singles and EPs—but I'm in Your Mind Fuzz is King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's definitive statement. Recorded, in part, at Daptone in Brooklyn and the rest in Melbourne, they've put together something impressive. It's a record that's dense and relentless. The first four tracks—the run from "I'm in Your Mind" to "I'm in Your Mind Fuzz"—form one 12-minute chunk, a psychedelic freakout with frantic yelps that ought to do label boss John Dwyer proud. Also, this may be the first instance time you ever hear a record that leaves you feeling so positive about jazz flute and harmonica jams.
Bad Indians: Keep Losin' [CQ]
Bad Indians have been a local Ann Arbor, MI staple the last four years. They play often—opening for touring bands, at small festivals, at cramped DIY shows—they've gone through, seemingly, a few dozen lineup changes and so each show often feels a different band. The band's nucleus Jules Nehring is moving away from the area, which means local Bad Indians shows won't be as frequent of an occasion; Nehring's departure marks the end of an era. The famed Zingerman's Deli has even named their sandwich of the month after Jules--one of the city's highest honors. Making it all the more bittersweet, Zehring is releasing Bad Indians' finest album yet. Keep Losin' features the previously released basher "Anunaki", the joyous highlight "Airplants", and a closing 12-minute jam called "Marble Orchard". As Michigan says goodbye to one of its best local bands, the rest of the world should take notice.
The Paperhead: Africa Avenue [Trouble In Mind]
Nashville's the Paperhead are one of the most exciting acts on Trouble in Mind's already impeccable roster. Recorded in bassist Peter Stringer-Hye’s Nashville garage and had mixed by Cooper Crain (who worked on records by Bitchin' Bajas and Cave), what's most impressive about their Zombies-esque Africa Avenue is that it never feel like it's coasting. "None Other Than", opens with an acoustic crawl and lyrics about being tired about "seeing nothing and feeling nothing". But they don't just complain about their boredom—they take action. At the song's center, they turn up the power and ramp up speed. When the flute (everyone's doing it!) comes in on the title track, it's plain that this isn't an album that simply retraces its own steps.
Icky Boyfriends: Live in San Francisco [Castle Face]
I've said it before: Live in San Francisco is a series that feels like it means something. John Dwyer and Castle Face don't just pick bands that could obviously sell records—they record bands that they want to record. This time, it's Icky Boyfriends, the noisy and abrasive San Francisco cult band who got their start at the end of the 1980s, somewhat famously cleared clubs throughout the 1990s, and reunited in 2010. In the album's press bio, Dwyer says he used to listen to them on a boombox while painting houses. Alongside Chris Woodhouse, Eric Bauer, and Bob Marshall, he's documented their summer 2013 concert at the SF Eagle. Sure enough, alongside A Love Obscene, it's an important entry in the band's discography.
Cool Ghouls: A Swirling Fire Burning Through the Rye [Empty Cellar/Sunday Best]
The kids on the cover of Cool Ghouls new album seem to live in the house party present, but the Bay Area band don't sound like they're of this time. They have the tone and delivery of a Nuggets-era oddity; their harmonies tend to invoke the Beach Boys or CSN, their guitars echo with vibrato (when they're not steeped in a deep, ominous fuzz), and occasionally, they deliver monster guitar solos. But for all its vintage rock'n'roll leanings (and real groovy album title), A Swirling Fire Burning Through the Sky is full of catchy, immediate songs that capitalize on the promise of their early "hit", "Hot Summer".