King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Flight b741

For their 26th album, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard swap the widescreen concepts of their last few albums for the intimacy of six good friends working together on their most convivial set yet captured on vinyl. For "Flight b741", according to band leader Stu Mackenzie, King Gizzard "wanted to do something primal, instinctive, more 'from the gut' - just people in a room doing what felt right. We wanted to do something that was fun."

"Flight b741" taps into the '70s American country rock they all grew up with, as well as the garage rock roots from which their mighty discography stems. In the 10 jagged, glorious songs King Gizzard carve out the rough skeletons of the songs with their inspired improvisations, inimitable grooves and a unique pass-the-mic approach to vocals where each band member raises their voice and sings. "We have a lot of fun, but we also sing about some pretty heavy shit a lot," Mackenzie adds, "and probably hit on some deeper, more universal themes than usual. It's not a sci-fi record, it's about life and stuff. But the record is like a really fun weekend with your buddies, you know? Really fun like that."

Reviews

"Impressive how the band effortlessly switches back and forth between intellectual conceptual art and energy-driven feel-good songs throughout their career." (VISIONS, August 2024)