King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Phantom Island
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Accompanied by an orchestra, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard proceed their seek for new sonic horizons on Phantom Island. Elliott Simpson evaluations.
Do King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard ever fear about reaching the tip of their lengthy, extravagant costume rack? Throughout their twenty-seven-album profession, the Australian band have worn virtually as many outfits. Previously 5 years alone, we’ve seen them dip between punishing thrash rock, analogue synth odysseys, and jam-band grooves that get into the advantageous particulars of fungal colonies. Whereas the group was as soon as intently related to different acts from the psych-rock scene (Osees, Ty Segall, Fuzz), they’re now in a league of their very own. A league the place they will simply promote out Purple Rocks or the Royal Albert Corridor months upfront, the place they’ve the form of rabid fanbase it takes different bands a long time to assemble.
The 2 primary causes for this are their prolificness (twenty-seven albums in 13 years) and the aforementioned costume rack. Not the entire band’s experimentations have been utterly profitable, however, at worst, they’ve at the very least been attention-grabbing detours. Once I noticed the band reside final, they opened the present hunched over a desk loaded with synthesisers and cables, enjoying songs from 2023’s The Silver Twine. Although it was by far the weakest a part of the present (issues picked up considerably as soon as they grabbed their guitars), it’s onerous to not admire the band for going there. Much more admirable is the truth that King Gizzard’s fanbase, the gizzheads, are at all times onboard for no matter detour the band needs to take subsequent.
And so, enter Phantom Island, touted because the band’s orchestral album. It’s a sonic shift that is sensible – if solely as a result of this is among the few sounds King Gizzard hasn’t explored but. In line with the band, Phantom Island grew out of the classes from their earlier album, Flight b741, which noticed them delve into Steve Miller-core seventies rock. Given how back-to-basics that album sounded, this origin story may appear unusual; when you take heed to Phantom Island, nevertheless, all of it begins to make sense. At its coronary heart, the album carries the identical meat ‘n’ potatoes rock DNA as Flight b741, solely with some orchestral dressing excessive.
The clearest instance of that is the tune Deadstick, a rollicking quantity that wouldn’t have felt misplaced on the final King Gizzard album. The one factor that marks it out as completely different is the brassy stomp of the orchestral overdubs. The addition of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones offers the tune a muscle that it wouldn’t have had on Flight b741, shifting issues in a extra Steely Dan jazz-rock territory. And it’s unbelievable enjoyable. The band indulge of their extra goofy tendencies on Deadstick, with handclaps, cartoony falsettos, and a roaring guitar solo. It’s inconceivable to withstand stomping alongside to.
If there’s one factor that marks Phantom Island out as completely different from Flight b741, nevertheless, it’s a lack of hooks. Exterior of Deadstick, there isn’t a tune on right here that looks like a single. A lot of the album’s different tracks as an alternative take inspiration from a distinct kind of ‘70s rock: prog. The album opens with a sea of swirling strings, twinkling piano notes, and cooing trumpets, earlier than the acquainted roar of the band’s guitars arrive a couple of minutes in. Much more of a detour is Lonely Cosmos, Phantom Island’s most bold second. On it, an acoustic guitar emerges from a swamp of haunted strings, earlier than the tune strikes by a number of completely different phases, shifting backwards and forwards between high-energy whimsy and black moodiness.
Phantom Island, like lots of King Gizzard’s releases, can be an idea album, with the band’s three vocalists buying and selling verses backwards and forwards throughout the observe record. (Whether or not the three of them are supposed to be voicing the identical character or completely different ones is unclear, particularly as their singing voices are nearly indistinguishable.) The plot focuses on an astronaut (pilot?) who’s stranded in area, weighed down by existential angst, and desperately looking for a solution to get residence to his household. For a band that’s specialised in ridiculous, high-concept premises involving dinosaurs, robots, and killer wasps, the storyline right here is fairly muted, with most of it enjoying out in the primary character’s head. Truthfully, it’s not rather more than a nice-to-have. It’s unlikely that anybody besides essentially the most devoted gizzheads are going to dive into the particulars of the lyrics.
All in all, Phantom Island looks like a less-than-essential entry within the band’s catalogue. However then once more, what does ‘important’ even imply on the subject of a band like King Gizzard? The extravagance of their costume rack has ensured they can symbolize a thousand completely different bands to a thousand completely different folks. And whereas I’ll at all times have essentially the most fondness for the group’s early psych-heavy days (Nonagon Infinity will at all times be the benchmark), I do know different followers see the thrash-metal albums as their peak, and others their jam-band materials. Perhaps followers that get on board with Phantom Island will see orchestral King Gizzard as their truest type. And actually, it’s these disagreements that spotlight why they’re such a particular, particular band.
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You will discover King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard on-line right here.
All phrases by Elliott Simpson. You will discover extra writing by Elliott for Louder Than in his writer’s archive and different work on his web site. His 33 1/3 e book on Yo La Tengo’s And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is obtainable now.
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