King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, yes, the name is outrageous but so is the music in the best possible way. It calls for your attention and they will surely keep it. The Australian rock group produce some of the most inventive, fun, unique rock albums available. Four years after their debut they released 8 albums, roughly about two a year since 2012 and made a promise to release 5 albums in 2017, all with a very specific idea or concept to fulfill.
King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard are Stu Mackenzie, lead guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, flute, keyboard, clarinet, sitar, bass guitar, the man can do it all and is the master mind behind all their ideas. Joey Walker, other guitarist and occasional vocalist, Ambrose Kenny bringing his harmonica and rough vocals into a few cuts. Then there’s cookie Craig on rhythm guitar, Lucas Skinner on bass, and there two drummers, yes two, Michael Cavanaugh and Eric Moore. Using two drummers gives king gizzard an intensity and range in their music that not too many other artists can match. Eric Moore started his own independent record label called Flightless Records which serves as King Gizzards own record label. It’s a crazy amount of work to be doin in top of releasing multiple albums a year and touring but having this record label gives the band the creative freedom they need to create whatever they want.
King gizzard have released 12 albums as of today each with there own concept and sound. Their debut “12 Bar Bruise” is a rough, garage rock album. Low quality, the title track recorded on iPhones, this album is raw, showing us who king gizzard are for the first time. There sophomore, “Float Along- Fill Your Lungs” is there first true dive in psychedelic rock and they don’t hesitate at all with their 16-minute intro song, “Head On/pill”. 2014 they released “Oddments” which was more of a collage of discarded concepts and songs from previous albums and ideas, but still hold cult favorites. That same year they made it up with “I’m in Your Mind Fuzz”, when asked where to first start when listening to these guys, start here as this is where, I think, they really found their sound and became a foundation for future albums. 2015 they released “Quarters!” A softer jazz rock jam consisting of 4 songs all 10:10 long, featuring the stand out “Rivers” which still manages make it on most set lists when playing live today. 2015 they released “Paper Mache Dream Balloon” this all acoustic psychedelic pop record was where a lot of fans entered King Gizz for the first time. Filled with bright hooks and a lighter tone it’s a good mix up from their heavier stuff. This shorter album was only a side project while working on their more anticipated album, “Nonagon infinity”. Released in 2016, “Nonagon infinity” is a never-ending rock opera where every song leads you directly to the next and the last song swinging you all the way back to the top for another listen. An idea that’s been in the works for longer than any other album they finally did it, and to the praise of fans and critics alike, It’s a cult favorite along with Mind fuzz.
After a long break, or what may seem like a long break to the King Gizz fanbase, there next album “Flying Microtonal Banana” was released in the beginning of 2017 along with a promise of 4 other albums that year. In “Flying Microtonal Banana” they seem to have mastered the use of microtones which are essentially notes in between notes, which isn’t really used in western music. Along with playing just the right amount out of tune as they say, it gives the album a funky Middle Eastern sound that’s unique and just solid from start to finish. Summer 2017 “Murder of the Universe” was released. Definitely their heaviest sounding album, this album is split into three chapters telling one long story. With a lot of spoken word and a rather long track list it received mixed reviews from fans not liking the audio book-musical feel it has to it but still enjoyed by many.
That same summer showed us the jazzy “Sketches of Brunswick East” made in collaboration with Alex Brettin from the Mild High Club, the lo-fi jazzy rock that came out of this collaboration could not have gone better. November 2017 “Polygondwanaland” was released. This progressive rock album was released for free to the public, allowing anyone do to whatever they want with it. Custom vinyl prints where quickly made by fans through independent labels and in some cases, all purchases went to charity. This album wasn’t just the bands, it was everyone’s. This brought music sharing to another level, giving everyone the creative opportunity to do what they want, not just improving the King Gizzard fanbase, but the music community as a whole. On the last day of the year, King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard made their promise of 5 albums in one year, finishing with “Gumboot Soup”. Full of call backs to other albums from that year, the diversity and creativity in this psychedelic pop album will surely satisfy fans until the next mass release year that’s due to come.
I have gone days only listening to King Gizzard because there is just that much variety. It wasn’t a matter of what artist do I want to listen to but what King Gizzard Album do I want to listen to. There’s one for every day, for every mood. Switching up their sound and aesthetic in every album also means if you don’t like one album, there’s always a different concept for you to enjoy. There the peoples band, releasing 12 inventive, different albums in five years, maintaining their own record label, on top of some members making solo music and the band even organizing and hosting their own music festival in Australia called Gizz Fest, theyre one of the most important current bands and only get better with every release.