Stream King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard Quarters (Stereogum Premiere)
King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard are promoted as “Australia’s best psych rock export since Tame Impala,” and although everything about that statement is true, there’s a world of difference between what these guys do and the jams Kevin Parker and company kick out. Whereas Tame Impala have gotten progressively sleeker, dancier, and more electronic over the years, flipping retro styles into space-age sounds, King Gizzard and his cohorts make records that sound like they could have been misplaced behind some recording studio filing cabinet in 1970. The Melbourne ensemble gave us the zany I’m In Your Mind Fuzz LP last year, and they’re quickly following this spring with Quarters, a tripped-out blues-psych exploration in four parts, each one 10:10 in length. The frenetic garage-rock aspects of the last album give way to jazz chords, groovy rhythms, and wide-open spaces and/or minds. It’s like getting lost in the sonic Bermuda Triangle between Electric Ladyland, Led Zeppelin I, and Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Ease into it below.
UPDATE: The streaming window for this release is now over.
Quarters is out 5/11 on Castle Face. Pre-order it here, and check out King Gizzard’s upcoming tour dates below.