Released: 2020

Genres: Anatolian Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock, Heavy Psych

The Musiquarium’s K.G. Review Score: 8 out of 10

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard return to familiar territory with their second volume of microtonal rock, but considering that the cover artwork of 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana did specify that it was “Explorations into Microtonal Tuning, Volume 1”, then K.G. should come as no surprise. This is also the first album without the inclusion of Eric Moore, who had been a member of the band since their 2012 debut album, 12 Bar Bruise.

The album starts with a short, self-referential instrumental intro called K.G.L.W., before launching into the heavy (though not Infest the Rats’ Nest level heavy), anti-artificial intelligence admonition of Automation. The two Amby co-writes are quite good: the acoustic Straws in the Wind and the driving Oddlife. The two solo Joey Walker-penned songs, the scathing Minimum Brain Size and the middle eastern dance number Intrasport, display a continued evolution of his songwriting abilities within the band.

Some of Us is similar to Automation, with Stu Mackenzie warning that “everything turns to dust”. Ontology (the philosophy of “being”) features an instrumental chorus made up of horns, violin, and harmonica. After several heavier tracks, Honey provides something far sweeter, though the band throws you into the doomy, wah pedal-riddled teeth of The Hungry Wolf of Fate, right after.

While K.G. isn’t quite as incredible (or novel) as Flying Microtonal Banana was, it eschews the krautrock influence for something a little more dynamic and varied, making for a sequel that’s both faithful to the original, but still has enough of an identity of its own. 

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

Back to the 2020 Album Reviews Guide or the King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard