Yay, more prog-punk from Ft. Thunder; this stuff never gets old!Wizardzz features the bassist from Lightning Bolt playing drums and Rich Porteron some retro-futurist keyboard strata, playing into a miniaturized, cartoonversion of L’Bolt doing abbreviated Yes-ian sci-fi vista burners.
Punk ascendants in the stripped-down indulgence of theiraesthetic only, Wizardzz are for anyone who always wanted Lightning Bolt to putmore of the airy shimmer in their melodies and maybe get a little disco in thebackground. Brian Gibson is surprisinglyas chop-ful a drummer as Brian Chippendale of the Bolt, giving every one ofthese songs the propulsive, stomping edge they need to stay fun and keep out ofretro-wank regions. This record shouldbe essential for anyone who loves Lightning Bolt drumming because Gibson’sstyle is so similar to that of Chippendale while also opening up a bit, pushinginto lighter, more infinity-tinged acid patter under the washing electric coolof the keyboards.
Porter nearly outshines the drumming, dropping gliding,shimmering melodies in addictive, reductive homage to synth heroes likeTangerine Dream, while at once charging ahead into spacey dance beats that aresometimes neck-and-neck with Gibson’s pulse-playing. Unlike some Lightning Bolt, everything soundsthoroughly composed, never pursuing freak-outs that might boil over and ruinthe cartooned mood. True, some of thisstuff sounds very video-gamey and ‘twee’ in that sense, but once you’re insideit’s hard not to deny that kind of adrenaline fully its work. As a cornerstone, Wizardzz end the album witha particularly energetic live song recording, proving that just the two can doit all in real, kept time—pretty damn ecstatic and fun. Also, if you’ve ingested this one and wantmore Wizardzz, know that a short live video recording comes included with theDVD release of Gibson’s animated feature Barkley’sBarnyard Critters: Mystery Tail(Load), which may or may not include scoringby the band.
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