K.G.

Editors’ Notes K.G. is the 16th—yes, 16th—studio album from Melburnian psych rockers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard—albeit their first without founding member and drummer/manager Eric Moore, who quit the group in August 2020 to focus on running his label, Flightless Records. King Gizzard records are known for their off-piste themes, and K.G. is no exception. Following the precedent set on 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana, K.G. also incorporates elements of microtonality (the two albums are subtitled Explorations Into Microtonal Tuning, Volume 1 and 2, respectively). In music theory terms, this means the band has customized their guitars to be able to play pitches that fall in between the traditional notes as defined by Western scales. In terms of how it sounds, this gives the riffs and melodies a more Middle Eastern feel—it’s a common feature of Persian and Turkish music. This approach is paired with the mind-bending lyrics and ferocious acid-prog guitar attack that have become King Gizzard trademarks, but there are also excursions into other genres. In particular, “Intrasport,” written solely by guitarist Joey Walker, veers into disco territory with its choppy licks and string stabs, before dissolving into a wall of static noise. Inventive to a fault, the sextet released fourth single “Automation” for free online, including the raw files for all separate audio channels whilst inviting fans to fashion their own versions of the track. It’s all par for the course for a band that never fails to innovate and surprise.