King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard : Phantom Island
There is no other band running the marathon in which King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard seem to be in first place—their newest album, Phantom Island, marks their 27th album in their 15-year career. And the thing is, with King Gizz is, there aren’t even really any bad albums. With each release, it’s clear that the Australian rock outfit are just continuing to produce music that’s their own—sometimes the genre changes, but generally, you can just hear the group having fun as they navigate whatever musical experiment they’d like to try out next.
This time around, though, they really are adding something completely new. While they have multiple metal albums, lots of psychedelic odysseys and plenty of solid rock tunes, Phantom Island marks the band’s first collaboration with an orchestra. After performing at the Hollywood Bowl in June 2023, the band met some members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who encouraged the idea of a collaboration. King Gizzard guitarist and vocalist Stu Mackenzie reached out to Chad Kelly, a British keyboardist and arranger who created symphonic arrangements to accompany the songs that comprise Phantom Island. The finished product is seamless, feeling like the juxtaposition of hard psychedelic rock and softer strings should have happened sooner. Mackenzie added in a press release, “It feels like you’re in the room with the band and the orchestra, that we’re all in the same room together.”
True to King Gizzard’s style, the ten tracks on the album are infused with the carefree, fun loving nature that has become such a staple in the Gizz discography. On “Deadstick,” Ambrose Kenny Smith’s brash vocals careen against a metallic chorus of trombones, saxophones, and trumpets, a true melding of tones. They follow that with “Lonely Cosmos,” which sprinkles in ethereal strings to add a velveteen touch to one of the album’s more subdued tracks. “Spacesick” leans into the otherworldly nature of King Gizzard’s musical styles, the flute and violin melodies swarming around Mackenzie and Smith’s vocals as they sing “I see you / swaddled by the solidity of terrestrial fabric / entangled in its loam.” The tracks on Phantom Island have a storybook quality to them, blending fantastical imagery with expansive instrumentals.
As King Gizzard embarks on a summer tour that will feature some shows performed with a live orchestra, Phantom Island proves that their unique kind of teamwork continues to bear fruit. The fusion of the band’s thrilling approach with an orchestra’s beating heart will only add greater dimension to their legendary live shows. It’s exciting to see a band with so much under its belt continue to excel and create, all while keeping their contagious sense of fun within their music.
Label: p(doom)
Year: 2025
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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard : Phantom Island
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