King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is a strange group – there’s no getting around it – but it is the strangeness that is so appealing to the fans. What makes them so strange is the way they combine two musical styles that are rarely seen today: punk and psychedelia. Most would not think these two styles would go together. In fact, punk served as the antithesis of lengthy, virtuosic psych bands like Pink Floyd. However, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard make both of these musical styles work flawlessly together.
The seven piece group from Melbourne, Australia, consists of vocalist and guitarist Stu Mackenzie, vocalist and harmonica player Ambrose Kenny Smith, guitarists Cook Craig and Joey Walker, bass player Lucas Skinner and drummers Michael Cavanagh and Eric Moore. The band formed in 2010 and released their first full-length album “12 Bar Bruise” in 2012 on Flightless Records. Since then, they have been pumping out two albums a year: “Float Along. Fill Your Lungs” (2013), “Oddments” (2014), “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz” (2014), “Quarters!” (2015), “Paper Maché Dream Balloon” (2015) and their latest release, “Nonagon Infinity” (2016).
Album cover from the band’s 2015 album “Quarters!”
Much like 1960s garage rock band The 13th Floor Elevators, this band is a high intensity freak out. These guys know how to keep it weird. Anything they release, from their album covers to their music videos, is like something out of a whirling, colorful drug trip. Their discography has a wide variety of catchy gems like “Hot Wax” from 2014’s “Oddments” as well as long, sonic journeys such as “Head On/Pill” from 2013’s “Float Along. Fill Your Lungs.” However, the individual songs don’t compare to the full-length albums. “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz” is an acid-fueled jam with something for everyone, while concept album “Quarters!” takes listeners through four powerful psych-rock epics, each clocking in at 10:10. This stuff is exciting and energizing. The band spends most of their time touring. However, the closest that the band usually gets to Blackburn College is Chicago.
If I were to criticise the band for anything, it would be that they revisit the same musical themes very often. Their latest record, “Nonagon Infinity,” is essentially the same four songs repeated over and over. The only variation in the songs are the lyrics and speed at which they are played. Another example of this is on 2014’s “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz,” where the first half of the record is the same song played for 20 minutes. While I personally love both of these records, some might find this repetition boring.