Is King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard the hardest-working band in the world? They’re certainly in the running. In fact, it’s hard to keep track of the Australian sextet’s voluminous output over the last dozen years — the band has released 25 full-length albums since 2012, including a whopping nine since 2021. That’s more than seven hours of music in just the last three years, an adventurous smorgasbord of offerings anchored in the band’s beloved psych-rock base with offshoots into garage, pop, prog, metal and electronic. Then there’s King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s ceaseless touring schedule — shows, typically two hours in length, that range from trippy, acid-drenched sonic excursions to acoustic-based covers or alternate versions that rarely fail to satisfy.
And, of course, they’re not done yet — the band’s latest, Flight b741 , dropped early this month, another curve ball marked less by their typical conceptual zeal than an effort to simplify their approach.
“We wanted to make something that was primal, instinctual, more from the gut, just people in a room, doing what feels right,” tireless frontman Stu Mackenzie said in the press notes that accompanied the album’s release. “We wanted to make something fun .”
Cue “Hog Calling Contest,” a foot-stomping barrage of southern-fried riffs, manic drumming and gang vocals with lyrics about flying high first class on flight b741 with their piggy chums. It recalls early Grand Funk Railroad laced with dashes of Frank Zappa and The Grateful Dead, all soused on grits and absinthe. Then there’s “Le Risque,” another good-natured, boogie-woogie trip down South rife with choogle guitars, bleating harmonica and, curiously, the debut of drummer Michael Cavanagh on lead vocals. The lyrics encourage us to live in the moment, using two iconic adventurers to make their point: “Hello, Evel Knievel/Running through the red light/Philippe Petit, yeah/Walk the tightwire/Take the risk, take the risk/You only live once.”
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are certainly taking their own advice, creating music and playing shows at a head-spinning rate rare in any era.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard play MegaCorp Pavilion on Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. More info: promowestlive.com/cincinnati/megacorp-pavilion .
This story is featured in CityBeat's Aug. 7 print edition.
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