Was just wondering if this had made the thread yet. As usual, I'm late to the party. I came across this while watching... you guessed it, King Gizzard videos. As someone who has played drums and guitar for a while (in mediocre style), I think these dudes are LEGIT! Both amazing players if you ask me. The drummer is crazy fast and TIGHT, and sure, the guitarist is using loops, but that is not easy to do if you've ever tried, and he can clearly shred.
Microtones are not familiar to the Western ear, and at first, they sound "wrong." If you've ever dabbled in Indian or Middle Eastern music (and enjoyed it), it should come a little easier. The thing that makes what these guys (and King Gizzard, etc. at times) do with microtones cool (IMO) is that they mix them into progressions and cadences that are accessible to the Western ear.
This is also "math rock," which I can generally dig for 20 minutes on its raw merits (it's not easy to play in wacky time signatures) but generally devolves into something too disjointed to stay interesting for the likes of me. These guys keep me interested the whole way.
It's also performance art. I have no idea how these guys are playing in those costumes without suffocating, but the alien schtick works well with the microtonal melodies, IMO. I do wonder what they will bring to the table to keep things interesting. Will they add new musicians? Will they change the persona? Will be interesting to see.
I'm looking forward to seeing them at the Paramount in December.
