King Gzzard and the Lizard Wizard: flight b741 review | Album of the week

doom
Channeling garage bands, Little Feat and more, the prolific Aussies weave nihilistic lyrics with 70s-style riffs into darkly enjoyable fun.

You might have assumed the Gizzard King and the Lizard Wizard were just that Not for you. This band of tousled-haired Australian larrikins are releasing records at such a furious clip – 25 in just over 10 years, and that’s before even addressing the live albums they’ve released on Bandcamp in that time – that most listeners casuals would have forgiven me for not venturing at all. Those albums are often concept-driven in a way that can be intimidating to those without technical musical knowledge (three rely on microtonal tuning) or any interest in taking a massive bong rip before the game starts (2017’s Murder of the Universe is a three-part album talking about cyborgs, monsters and human consciousness). And of course their band name is King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

But don’t underestimate Gizz, or Wizz, or Lizz, or however you want to shorten it. They’re good pop songwriters – check out 2015’s Paper Mâché Dream Balloon if soft, bossa nova-influenced folk is your thing – and demanding producers who expand their garage sound to include funk, jazz and dance music. Their stories of monsters and sorcery have always been more complex than they might seem on first listen – any sci-fi writer will tell you that coherent world-building is a lot harder than it looks – and in recent years they’ve also tackled societal discord, corporate . greed and the climate crisis with great empathy.

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