King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard release new album “Phantom Island”
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King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is known for their unique sound spanning over almost 30 albums in the last decade. With such an expansive collection, it is no surprise that there are plenty of funky sounds to choose from. The versatile nature of their style allows them total freedom to explore genres, sounds, and styles as they please.
Australian experimentalists Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, and Michael Cavanagh come together to share their jamming to a large global fanbase. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard has managed to amass close to 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Combine that with their half a million followers on various other socials, they have managed to combine their unique talents to produce some awe-inspiring music.
Photo via Spotify
The newest album, Phantom Island opens with the title track of the same name. “Phantom Island” was released as a single in October of last year. The only other singles off the album are “Deadstick” and “Grow Wings and Fly” exactly one month ago. “Phantom Island” starts with a mixture of piano and flute that has a super jazzy feel, especially when the drums and horns kick in. It perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album with the ethereal sounding composition. In the following nine songs the pairing of each instrument is super intentional. The ending of “Lonely Cosmos” has a haunting sort of feel at about five minutes in, created by a series of strings.
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These strings then flow into “Eternal Return” accompanied by a set of chimes. This album feels like a journey through a strange new world. Each instrument ushering in a new area that has been untouched.
The whole vibe of the album is sort of spacey with a hint of whimsy. Phantom Island at times feels reminiscent of albums like Space Oddity by David Bowie, and From the Mars Hotel by the Grateful Dead. Both of these albums have a vague space vibe but there’s a hint of something more. That “more” shows itself in the lyrics mostly. For example, in “Aerodynamics” there’s a line that states: “I have always wondered if I could step out of my body / Would I be a fish out of water, or like a school in harmony?” This line can obviously be interpreted in a multitude of ways. My own personal interpretation of it was the feeling right before stepping out of your comfort zone where you ponder on the possibilities.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have managed to once again step out of a box that most of us wouldn’t have known existed in the first place.