The Big Ones: Another week, another (very good) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard album (2024)

The big releases you need to hear from the week ahead.

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD – FLIGHT B741

In the time it takes most bands to decide on a setlist, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have probably released three albums. Their 26th(!) full-length, ‘Flight b741’, lands on Friday (9th August), and if you’re keeping score at home, that’s roughly 1.8 albums per year since their formation. We can do some graphs, if you like?

But quantity doesn’t mean squat without quality, and that’s where our Aussie psych-lords continue to defy expectations. After a string of increasingly theatrical concept albums that saw them tackling everything from climate change to retro synth odysseys, ‘Flight b741’ does the unthinkable – it ditches the highfalutin concepts altogether.

This time, the concept is no concept at all. As Stu Mackenzie, the band’s frontman, puts it, “We wanted to make something that was primal, instinctual, more ‘from the gut’, just people in a room, doing what feels right. We wanted to make something fun.”

The result? A glorious, fuzzy, country-fried rock’n’roll album that’s more infectious than a yawn in a lecture hall.

The recording process itself was a departure from their usual approach. Mackenzie explains, “We came in with the roughest skeletons for songs, and tried to keep the arrangements simple, free and easy. The best takes were always the ones where we were winging it pretty significantly.”

This off-the-cuff approach is palpable throughout the album. You can almost smell the sweat and hear the laughter between takes. It’s the sonic equivalent of finding a cold fizzy pop in the back of your fridge on a scorching summer day – refreshing and guaranteed to put a stupid grin on your face.

But the real magic of ‘Flight b741’ lies in its collaborative spirit. Mackenzie elaborates, “This is our most collaborative record – the collaboration was occurring in the room, it was free, and everyone was bringing in songs and ideas.” The band took a novel approach to vocals, passing the mic around like a hot potato at a summer barbecue. “We wanted to have as many lead vocalists as we could, and to pass the mic, like, ‘This is my part, my idea, I’m gonna sing it and then I’m gonna pass the mic along to you and you can do your thing’. The whole record is built around that.”

This communal approach extended to the lyrics as well. Mackenzie reveals, “We had broad themes for every song, and for the bigger picture of the album as a whole, but once the mic was passed it was all up to the person who was singing. These songs weren’t written in isolation – someone would write their verse, sing it for the demo, and that would inspire the next person’s part. So we were riffing off each other.”

The result is a collection of songs that, while fun and upbeat on the surface, often dive into deeper waters. As Mackenzie puts it, “Lyrically, it’s all pretty introspective – we’re having a lot of fun, but we’re often singing about some pretty heavy sh*t, and probably hitting on some deeper, more universal themes than usual. It’s not a sci-fi record, it’s about life and stuff.”

It might not be the album that defines the band’s legacy, but as Mackenzie sums up, “The record is like a really fun weekend with your mates, you know? Like, proper fun.” And in the grand scheme of the ever-expanding Gizzverse, that’s worth its weight in gold.

f*ckED UP – ANOTHER DAY

Just when you thought it was safe to put your earplugs away, f*cked Up come crashing back with ‘Another Day’, a sort of follow-up-slash-companion-piece to previous record ‘One Day’.

This time around, the band have decided to play beat-the-clock, with each member recording their parts in a single day. The result? Their shortest album yet, proving that good things come in small, loud packages.

‘Another Day’ promises to be a whirlwind tour through the f*cked Up universe, touching on everything from personal growth to family dynamics. And because no party is complete without guests, they’ve invited a roster of collaborators that reads like the guest list for the coolest punk rock birthday bash you’ve never been invited to. Turns out, you can get a lot done in 24 hours.

NIKI – BUZZ

If the 70s and Gen Z had a love child raised on a strict diet of Joni Mitchell records and TikTok trends, you’d get something close to NIKI’s ‘Buzz’. The Jakarta-born, LA-based artist has been quietly amassing streams like a squirrel hoarding acorns for winter, and now she’s ready to chow down.

‘Buzz’ is familiar yet fresh, a comforting hug wrapped in the excitement of new possibilities, NIKI’s vocal gymnastics swinging from a country twang that would make Nashville proud to tones that’ll have you checking if Phoebe Bridgers snuck into the studio. It’s like she’s playing musical chairs, familiar yet fresh, a comforting hug wrapped in the excitement of new possibilities.

TWIN ATLANTIC – MELTDOWN

Twin Atlantic are back, and they’re not so much dipping their toes in the waters of nostalgia as they are cannon-balling into the deep end. ‘Meltdown’ sees the Scottish rockers hitting lightspeed and zooming back to their guitar-heavy roots.

Turning their amps up to eleven and remembering why they fell in love with big, loud guitars in the first place, it’s like they’ve taken all the lessons learned over nearly two decades of making music and decided to simultaneously both honour them and throw them out the window.

But don’t think Twin Atlantic have forgotten the tricks they picked up during their more experimental phases. ‘Meltdown’ sounds like it’s aiming to be a greatest hits album in disguise, blending their newfound studio savvy with their old-school rock roots. Whether you’re a long-time fan hankering for the good old days or a newcomer wondering what all the fuss is about, ‘Meltdown’ is Twin Atlantic at their most Twin Atlantic.