Rank the quarters

1. The River
2. Lonely Steel Sheet Flyer
3. Infinite Rise
4. God is in the Rhythm

They're all good, though.

I'd probably swap 3 and 4, otherwise correct. The River is legit the best song they've ever written.

agreed

This!

Cool, it's nice to see some agreement on the board.
Here's something to throw out there: One review I read of the album drew a line between Dave Brubeck's Take 5 and The River in terms of the guitar riff (I assume the beginning portion of The River). Thoughts?

hold on give me 40 mins

Nice! I hope you enjoy the album.

It's probably the 5/4 time signature that they share. I'd compare it more to the jazz-inflected soft rock music by bands like Allman Brothers or Traffic.

I'd be interested in some recommendations for similar albums actually

That sounds about right.
Their other jazzy album is Sketches of Brunswick East (made with Mild High Club), although it has a bit of a different feel to it. I would recommend that along with both of Mild High Club's albums, Timeline and Skiptracing. Or, if you're looking for stuff based off of "the elements," The Beach Boys' Smile Sessions has plenty of that, complete with animal noises like Infinite Rise. But I'd recommend Smile Sessions, or Smiley Smile, anyway. Just great stuff.

And supposedly the next album is "a jazz pop album, like Sketches but less wonky" according to Ambrose

Woah, is there a sauce for this? I'd be down for it.

Sauce is literally "some guy on reddit" so grain of salt the size of a planet

They really need to pursue their metal sounds more like on MOTU and infinity. Definitely their most interesting and enjoyable content.

their worst gimmick desu
all tracks other than the river feel too long

Haha, classic. Although I seem to remember "some guy on reddit" being right about Gizz stuff before, so I wouldn't rule it out.
I definitely want more material like MOTU and Nonagon, but I'm totally fine with them going in other directions too. I figure they'll get to the heavier stuff again soon enough with their release schedule track record, and in the meantime they can release what they like. Surprises like Sketches and Paper Mache really give the band that unique edge and flex their diversity.
I could see maybe Infinite Rise and God is in the Rhythm being a bit too long, but Lonely Steel Sheet Flyer is premium the whole way through.

I like the song with cats in it! Whats it called again?

desu paper mache to me is pretty boring and safe, I think nonagon and motu have been their most unique so far. Until nonagon they were a very solid psychedelic/ garage rock band. With Nonogan I was then thoroughly interested in them and their talent for being so eclectic.

I kinda agreed.

The River is fucking amazing holy shit

I strongly disagree, those are some of my least favorite albums by them. I'd like a sequel to either In Your Mind Fuzz or Paper Mache personally.

I’d love a doom metal albums from these guys. The last minute of crumbling castle is so T I G H T

Infinite Rise has the animal noises
Paper Mache is definitely more straightforward-sounding, although the lyrical content (not necessarily lyrical quality) is a nice contrast to the softer sound. I think I can agree that Nonagon and MOTU are their most unique though, or at least their most thrilling. Those are the albums that I find myself coming back to the most.

A sequel to Mind Fuzz or Paper Mache would be sweet. I'd also throw in another album featuring sitar use like Float Along.
Absolutely. An album focusing on that doom sound, ideally incorporating more chanting as well, is my personal most-wanted from them.

I'd recommend the music video for The River as well. Quite the work of art.

Am I the only one that likes god is in the rhythm?