Our 
most played collection of tunes this week: Paper Mache Dream Balloon. With this seventh full length release from Melbourne group King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard comes a reinvention of sound. They leave behind their garage fuzz days (hopefully and probably not for good, though) to record completely acoustically and work in instruments new to their sound, like flute. With this instrumental change came a new style and a collection of really cool tunes, acoustic but still full of power and pulsation. This album dropped in late November, so we’ll say goodbye to King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard after this last week at the top.
Neon Indian’s Vega Intl. Night School is in the same boat. Having a long run at the top of our chart, this fascinating sample ridden chill-wave greatness will have to retire from our rotation. Wand’s 1000 Days has become an airwave standard over the past weeks. This gloomy garage fuzz rock nestles right in next to King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard’s releases pre-Paper Mache Dream Balloon. At only it’s second week at KJHK, King Push — Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, from Pusha T, is killing it. Assistant Music Director Harrison Hipp said this of Pusha T’s success with this release: “[he] emanates a confident classiness and seasoned sound in the contemporary time capsule that is King Push — Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude. Prodution from Kanye, J. Cole and Q-Tip is sprinkled throughout.” This is an album to watch. At the tail end of our top 5 is the Belgian based band Balthazar. This release, Thin Walls, is a moody, deliberate, and well crafted indie-pop rock album, hellishly catchy but not lacking depth and devise lyrics.
New to the chart this week: a rad collection of reinventions of Tycho’s Awake, Awake Remixes, as well as Adrian Younge with Something About April II.
| 1 | KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD | Paper Mache Dream Balloon | ATO | |
| 2 | NEON INDIAN | Vega Intl Night School | Mom And Pop | |
| 3 | WAND | 1,000 Days | Drag City | |
| 4 | PUSHA T | Darkest Before Dawn | G.O.O.D. | |
| 5 | BALTHAZAR | Thin Walls | Play It Again Sam | |
| 6 | BERWANGER | Demonios | High Dive | |
| 7 | ST. GERMAIN | St. Germain | Nonesuch | |
| 8 | YONATAN GAT | Physical Copy | Joyful Noise | |
| 9 | FUZZ | II | In The Red | |
| 10 | JONNY GREENWOOD/SHYE BEN TZUR/RAJASTHAN EXPRESS | Junun | Nonesuch | |
| 11 | BESNARD LAKES | A Coliseum Complex Museum | Jagjaguwar | |
| 12 | CONNAN MOCKASIN AND DEVONTE HYNES | Myths 001 [EP] | ||
| 13 | ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER | Garden Of Delete | Warp | |
| 14 | ALEX G | Beach Music | Domino | |
| 15 | ARCA | Mutant | Mute | |
| 16 | SHIGETO | Intermission EP | Ghostly | |
| 17 | CONQUERORS | “You Must Be Dreaming” B/w “Maybe Someday” [7-inch] | ||
| 18 | TYCHO | Awake Remixes | Ghostly International | |
| 19 | TY SEGALL | Ty Rex | Goner | |
| 20 | ADRIAN YOUNGE | Something About April II | Linear Labs | |
| 21 | WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE AND I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE | Harmlessness | Epitaph | |
| 22 | CRISTOBAL AND THE SEA | Sugar Now | City Slang | |
| 23 | SHOPPING | Why Choose | Fat Cat | |
| 24 | CHILDBIRTH | Women’s Rights | Suicide Squeeze | |
| 25 | CARAVAN PALACE | Robot | Le Plan | |
| 26 | CAR SEAT HEADREST | Teens Of Style | Matador | |
| 27 | HELVETIA | Dromomania | Joyful Noise | |
| 28 | MADE OF OAK | Penumbra [EP] | Partisan | |
| 29 | RYAN HEMSWORTH & LUCAS | Taking Flight EP | ||
| 30 | USELESS EATERS | Live In San Francisco | Castle Face |
Our top 5 adds this week! If anything on this list is worth recommending (it all is, this is said with tongue in cheek), it’s jazz artist Dr. Lonnie Smith’s first release on Blue Note in 45 years, Evolution.
| 1 | DR. LONNIE SMITH | Evolution | ||
| 2 | TINDERSTICKS | The Waiting Room | City Slang | |
| 3 | TY SEGALL | Emotional Mugger | Drag City | |
| 4 | NZCA LINES | Infinite Summer | Memphis Industries | |
| 5 | CAVE SINGERS | “That’s Why” [Single] | Self-Released |