Their 27th album and their most theatrical yet, Phantom Island is the latest release from Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
It’s a partner to their prior album, Flight b741, and was recorded during the same sessions, continuing on with the same themes, but with a more orchestral sound.
Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to share her thoughts on the album.
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Episode Transcript
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at B.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I just spoken Religi Jess so sweet. This is Phantom Island.
It's a song by King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard
(00:46):
from an album of the same title. I quite like that.
It's busy. It is. It's busy, yeah, but but I
quite like that. And I'm ashamed to say I've never
heard of King Gizzard until and the Wizard Lizard. It's inevitable.
It was inevitable. Don't pretend like your surprise, I've never
heard of King Gizzard and the Wizard until the last
(01:07):
way you get a stale Clifford Our music review bringing
them to my attention. Good morning.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
More than that, do you know? The first time I
heard these guys was in twenty nineteen and they had,
I think, just being nominated for an ARIA for their
heavy metal album, right, So when I've sort of first
discovered them, I was like, oh, right, they're full metal
rock band. Okay, that's kind of cool, and then the
next album We're like, hang on, wait, are they still
the same people? I don't understand, right, they are the
(01:34):
absolute I mean, it's in the name Lizard isn't it chameleons,
the chameleons of music. They don't like to sit still
in anything too long, very playful, much like their name.
That's just there is an absolute trip hazard for everybody's
to say it out loud on the radio, I think.
But just very very talented musicians and again very playful
(01:56):
with genres and then actually how they bring them all together. Yeah,
these guys are also like I think it was like
twenty fifteen or something, they released an album called Quarters
and it was literally songs that were over ten minutes long.
Oh and that was a whole album. So they're not
playing into they're not playing into any sort of mainstream
we think our music's going to go straight to radio
(02:18):
play or anything like that. They're really just creating music
for what they like. I think a lot of it
comes from some jam studio sessions and then they evolved
from there. This album Phantom Island. They really have created
imagery and also music that goes with their imagery that
sounds like you're literally like I think one of the
pictures is a fish with a trumpet going up on
(02:40):
a round a building, you know, So it's very it's
almost the e Sergt. Pepper's album, you know, and it's
very theatrical and a little bit flamboyant, and there's this
orchestral stuff. So from their last album, they actually had
like a group of songs that didn't make the last album,
but they felt like they belonged somewhere and that's something
needed to happen to them. So they got on board
(03:01):
with a friend called Chad Kelly. Now he's a conductor
and he's an arranger, and so they got him to
put these orchestral other elements to the songs. And it's
really clever because Phantom island there, like there's these massive
string sections and you know, just it's quite odd, like
every now and then there's like this random oboe sort
(03:22):
of sound that you get through the base of it,
and it's a really quite interesting fusion. And I think
for them what it did is it re excited them
about these leftover songs, which must be frustrating when you've
written so much work and you do feel like they
have a life, and so I think that part there
for them was like, Okay, yes, this can be a
whole other album. There's still this real poppy kind of
(03:43):
sound to a lot of the tracks. Yeah, so it's
a little I don't know, it's kind of I don't know,
what is it.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Orchestral, theatrical, Yeah, theatrical.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Yeah, yeah, let's just go with that. I actually really
enjoy lead singer Stuugh Mackenzie's voice is really great on this.
It's quite playful along with the music. I mean, sometimes
the actual lyrics might sit a little bit deep and
it might be about our impact on the environment and
what's going on in life. But you you don't sink
into that first, if you know what I mean, Like
you're so taken away with what's going on musically. And
(04:15):
I think also if you've got some really good headphones
or loud speakers, that's the best way to hit this
album straight up. Like just each song is like a
random little trip, right, yeah, and so much going on
for it, So yeah, crank it up nice and loud,
really embrace that great voice in the harmonies that come
through a really cool Yeah. I like what they do
(04:38):
actually a little bit psychedelic pop two.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Maybe differently psychic yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Yeah, and then there's a bit of jazz funk. You know,
you'll get that sort of funky bassline that goes through
a lot of the songs too, and yeah, a little
more playful and a lot brighter than I think I've
probably heard some of their music. Like, I've actually really
enjoyed this album. Yeah, and I'm kind of fascinating. I
think they're one of those bands for me that you're like, oh,
these guys, Okay, what are we going to get you?
(05:03):
Let you feel excited in some ways when they release
a new album, cause you're never quite.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Sure, you're never short. Yeah, totally twenty seventh album. I
know that's insane, isn't it. It's just ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah, they did that crazy thing like Troy Kingy where
they decided to release, you know, a whole heap of
albums in one year. So there were two consecutive years
where they released like five studio albums each year.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Yeah yeah, So do we just call them King Gizzard?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
You're just King Gizzard's easy or kg l W.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Oh yeah, but a g l W Yeah yeah yeah, yeah, no,
that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Okay, there's actually a name for their fans. It's there.
It's something around the Gizzard parts. I quite think what
it is, but people sit in the Gizzard part and it's.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Okay, what did you give it? What did you give
Pantom's Some Island.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Look, I'm really enjoying it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Nice. All right, we'll get a bit more of a
listening to a couple of minutes. Thank you so much
to Stelle Pleasure Asdale Clifford, our music reviewer. More King
Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard for you in a couple
of minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Team, listen live
to News Talk said Be from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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