Time for takeoff

AUSTRALIAN rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard is set to drop its 26th studio album Flight b741 tomorrow.

Fans are expecting the album to incorporate a blues rock sound that the band once experimented with for their 2019 album Fishing for Fishies.

The album was created organically throughout jam sessions where the members gathered and played their instruments spontaneously.Lead vocalist Stu Mackenzie claims that this led to what the band believes to be its most collaborative project.

“Everyone was bringing in songs and ideas. And 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,” Stu said in an interview.

Stu also revealed that the body of work lyrically combines the fun times with a lot of vulnerable moments.

“We’re having a lot of fun, but we’re often singing about some pretty heavy things, and probably hitting on some deeper, more universal themes than usual. It’s not a sci-fi record, it’s about life and stuff. But the record is like a really fun weekend with your mates, you know? Like, proper fun,” he added.

Formed in 2010 in Melbourne, the group is known for exploring several genres and performing energetic live shows.

The band’s current line-up consists of multi instrumentalists Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, and Michael Cavanagh.

It is believed that the band’s name was created last minute as a compromise after Stu originally wanted to name it ‘Gizzard Gizzard’ while another band member wanted the name ‘Lizard King’.

However, the frontman denied the origin of story last year on social media, stating that he does not remember where the name came from.

The creatives have received several accolades including three Music Victoria Awards for best live act in 2016, 2017 and 2019.