Released: 2012

Genres: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Surf Punk

The Musiquarium’s 12 Bar Bruise Review Score: 6.5 out of 10

Following the Willoughby’s Beach EP, the seven-piece Australian garage rockers release their punked-up, surf rock-infused debut LP, 12 Bar Bruise.

Elbow is an energized opener accompanied by youthful shouts of “Hey hey hey hey”. On Muckraker, Stu Mackenzie sings of “pissing shit off porcelain”, which is definitely the most memorable lyric on the album. Nein is another high energy rocker, with most of its lyrics consisting of counting up to the titular number.

The title track sounds as if it were recorded on a phone, but it was actually recorded on four phones. Sam Cherry’s Last Stand is a spoken word western track with harmonicas, narrated by Broderick Smith, the father of band member Ambrose Kenny-Smith. Footy Footy is a tribute to football (or as us North Americans know it as, soccer).

12 Bar Bruise doesn’t contain much on the lyrical front and the production is quite raw, but it’s still got plenty of character and enthusiasm from the young and hungry Aussie rockers.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard on Discogs.

Back to the 2012 Album Reviews Guide or the King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard