King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have redefined the concept of 21st-century “content”
Australian rockers King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard are easily one of the most prolific bands working today, with 24 studio albums, 15 live albums, and various compilations, EPs and remixes to their name. This mammoth output has come to fruition in just 13 years, having formed in 2010 as a casual jam band.
While the band initially operated within the garage rock genre, releasing upbeat, scuzzy songs with relatively simple lyricism, their earliest releases still show signs of their budding experimentalism. For example, their 2011 EP Willoughby’s Beach includes unconventional instruments like the theremin, and the vocals on their debut album, 12 Bar Bruise, were recorded on various iPhones.
In 2013, King Gizzard released their second album, Eyes Like the Sky, a sonic departure from their previous record. They described the album as a “cult western audio book”, with Ambrose Kenny-Smith’s father, Broderick Smith, providing narration. With this unsuspecting release, King Gizzard proved their lack of interest in catering to a mainstream, widespread audience – they simply made whatever they felt inclined to do.
However, that same year, their first true foray into neo-psychedelia came with Float Along – Fill Your Lungs. The album took musical cues from ’60s garage rock and psychedelia while showcasing King Gizzard’s ability to create gloriously captivating long songs, such as the 16-minute opener ‘Head On/Pill’.
It didn’t take long for King Gizzard to gain a following as they continued to release interesting albums over the coming years, often grounded in specific concepts, such as Nonagon Infinity, an endlessly looping record, or Flying Microtonal Banana, made with entirely modified, microtonal instruments.
The band have never been one to shy away from new instruments, genres and recording techniques, which makes them one of the most compelling musical outfits of the 21st century. Through their incredibly varied discography, you can find oddball folk, climate-themed thrash metal, and melodic synth-pop, yet, somehow, you always know you’re listening to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
In 2017, the band announced they would release five albums that year, leaving many fans hesitant about whether they could pull off such a feat. Believe it or not, King Gizzard released some of their strongest material during this period, including Flying Microtonal Banana, Murder of the Universe and Polygondwanaland. Even their album of songs that couldn’t fit onto the previous four, Gumboot Soup, was a stellar record.
In 2022, with five additional studio albums under their belt since Gumboot Soup, the band decided to go again, hoping to release five more records that year. They did just that, even creating their first double album, Omnium Gatherum. Although this string of albums wasn’t as consistently incredible as 2017’s, the band still produced plenty of fantastic content, leaving fans amazed by King Gizzard’s endless ability to make good music.
With music-making software and social media now at our fingertips, it’s easier than ever to create music and upload it to the internet for all to hear. There’s certainly a danger that the accessibility of the internet can lead to an overload of music that hasn’t been carefully thought out, simply created under the pressures of receiving more clicks, streams and revenue.
But King Gizzard prove that being prolific is not always a bad thing. While many people believe it’s essential to sit with ideas for an extended period and spend a long time on one project, King Gizzard’s music indicates that there is no one-size-fits-all method for creating music.
Making art is an entirely individual experience, and King Gizzard uses the pressures of being prolific to consistently push themselves to new levels. The secret to the band’s formula is refusing to stay complacent – they are entirely unafraid to enter musical territories rarely explored in modern rock. They invent characters, turn their albums into stories and modify their instruments; even the most diehard King Gizzard fans find themselves questioning the band’s next steps.
By leaning into their prolific label, King Gizzard have cemented themselves as one of the most impressive alternative rock bands of all time. While many people believe in quality over quantity, the Australian rockers suggest that, sometimes, with the right creative drive and dedication, both are more than possible.
