When Melbourne-based seven turned six piece neo-psychedelic legends King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard revealed that their 27th album would not only feature a live orchestra but also be a tie in to their previous pig and plane themed barnyard bash album Flight B741, my mind instantly conjured visions of Dewey Cox yelling at an orchestra trying to make his magnum opus.
Thankfully, King Gizzard manages to avoid a sense of pretentiousness in their new single “Deadstick” (released April 15th via P(doom) records).
As the second single off of the upcoming Phantom Island, “Deadstick” is a fitting companion to the titular track. Featuring great reliance on swelling horns and blues-y guitar riffs, the track never stays in one place for too long, or even keeps with one vocalist for much longer than a minute.
Vocal performances are as good if not better than they’ve ever been from Stu Mackenzie, Joey Walker, and Ambrose Kenny Smith, with Joey’s lyrics specifically cultivating a surrealist aura for those who care to listen to them over the largely unchanging piano, untethered saxophone, and countless other rambunctious instruments.
But while the screams of Stu make it clear that the band is having fun, a certain level of excitement fails to carry over to the listener.
Featuring many thematic and sonical callbacks to Flight B741, “Deadstick” takes an interesting place among King Gizzard’s discography. Coming from a band that has made tunes out of balrogs, clocks, and color cones, one can’t help but wish for something at least a bit weirder than their relatively straight forward previous album.
While “Deadstick” certainly has an upbeat, groovy feel, fans of the group’s older work may find it to be lacking in that special gizzard-ly sauce.
All that being said, “Deadstick” is a bad track by no means, and many will get some level of enjoyment out of it. Here’s hoping that the rest of the album will be unconfined by blue skies and pigs.
Pre-order Phantom Island by KGLW on Bandcamp here.
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