What the Fuck is King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard?
photo courtesy of @kinggizzard Instagram
Stemming from Australia’s garage rock scene, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard is a band unlike any other. From their constant sound reinvention to their massive outpouring of music projects, KGLW is currently ushering in the next movement in Rock and Roll.
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard was formed in 2010 by seven lifelong friends. The band consists of Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Joey Walker, Cook Craig, Lucas Skinner, Michael Cavanagh, and Eric Moore. With seven members, including two drummers, the band’s musical skills are extremely diverse, which is evident through their perpetual evolution of sound from album to album. KGLW released their first album, 12 Bar Bruise, in 2012. Since then, they have released a total of 15 studio albums and two live albums. Through investigating each album individually, you can understand how diverse their genre-bending sound really is.
12 Bar Bruise is a classic garage rock album with a twist. It’s recorded by very modern unconventional methods, mainly using iPhone audio. The album is rough around the edges, but still a fun listen to see where the band got their start.
Their second album, Eyes Like The Sky, was released as a “cult western audiobook.” This album is built more like a soundtrack than an actual LP and tells the story of the western frontier through country rock.
Float Along - Fill Your Lungs is the band's first adventure into psychedelic rock, the genre they are most known for. The album starts off with a 16 minute instrumental called “Head on/Pill” and only gets trippier from there.
Oddments is one of the bands most famous albums and the one that helped them gain popularity in the West. Taking a more bluesy psychedelic approach, the band channels their inner Jerry Garcia and invokes a serenely mellow tone.
I’m In Your Mind Fuzz brings the band back to their grungier beginnings, taking a more driving tone and beginning to experiment with more unconventional tones and instrumentals.
Quarters! is a Jazz album split into four songs, with each song lasting exactly 10 minutes and 10 seconds. This was a significant shift from the bands previous rock vibe to a completely different genre all together and is an incredible sonic experience.
Paper Mâché Dream Balloon is KGLW’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (arguably one of the best Beatles albums, in case you didn’t know). Trading in guitar pedals for flutes and shakers, the band takes an acoustic approach and explores the genres of bluegrass and folk rock.
Nonagon Infinity is the band's famous “looping album” with each song bleeding into the next and the ending track seamlessly converging with the title track. This hard rock album is an incredible accomplishment in music composition.
In 2017, with the release of Flying Microtonal Banana, the band told its fans that they were going to release five albums in one year, a tremendous feat of musical genius.
In Flying Microtonal Banana KGLW experiments with microtonal instruments. The band added extra frets to all of their guitars and bases in order to play microtones, which are similar to a Sitar. This allowed for an extremely unique rock sound unlike anything you could hear today in contemporary music.
Murder of The Universe is a concept album, telling the story of a fantasy land. The album is split into three stories with the band providing a psychedelic rock score to a female narration.
Sketches of Brunswick East is our personal favorite album by the band. It’s a joint album with the band, Mild High Club, and blends the genres of jazz and electronic pop.
Polygondwanaland is a return to the group’s garage rock origins and progresses musical themes expressed previously on other albums. Plus, the music video for the first track “Crumbling Castle” is one of the trippiest videos you will ever see.
Gumboot Soup adventures into soul and RnB, blending perfectly with the psychedelic sonic atmosphere of the band’s natural musical tone. This album also completes the group's mission to release five albums in 2017!
After a year-long hiatus, Fishing for Fishies was released in 2019. This is a pure folk rock album with a very calming sonic atmosphere.
Infest the Rats’ Nest is the bands most recent release, a hardcore rock album that will rattle your brain in the best possible way.
Recording 15 totally different albums sounds hard enough on its own, but how about owning a recording company on top of that? All of the band members are also employees of Flightless Records, their recording label which they use to self release all of their music. They additionally manage their own touring and merchandise.
Conclusion: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is an enigma of a band. However, they are guaranteed to have an album for everyone, so do yourself a favor and check them out!!