King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard drop new single ‘Ice V’
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have just announced that they will be releasing three new albums in October, making this the second time that they will have released five albums in one year.
With 2017’s five-album stint spanning jazz, prog, psych, sludge, spoken word, and an entirely ‘microtonal’ album, fans aren’t entirely sure what to expect next.
Luckily, the band have released a single from the first of their upcoming albums, ‘Ice V’ off Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava, which will be released on October 7th. Explaining the process behind making the album, frontman Stu Mackenzie said: “We’d walk into the studio, set everything up, get a rough tempo going and just jam. No preconceived ideas at all, no concepts, no songs. We’d jam for maybe 45 minutes, and then all swap instruments and start again.”
According to Mackenzie, each song from the album has a different BPM, he said: “Naturally, each day’s jams had a different flavour, because each day was in a different scale and a different BPM.”
‘Ice V’ begins with the chaotic sound of a tape rewinding before launching into a repetitive riff and bouncing drums as Mackenzie repeats (in usual Gizz fashion) the words of the title track. His singing style also seems to bear the influence of hip-hop, which the band experimented with on their 20th album Omnium Gatherum.
Some krautrock-inspired riffs begin to dominate, calling back to the likes of CAN before Mackenzie’s flute can also be heard, directly reminiscent of the flute sounds heard on Murder of the Universe. A largely instrumental section takes over, incorporating funk sounds to the point that this section wouldn’t sound out of place, soundtracking a 1970s buddy cop movie or blaxploitation film.
Ambrose Kenny-Smith’s backing vocals add a soulful element to the background of the instrumentation as it progresses, with wah-ing guitars bringing the whole soundscape together.
The single is an impressive 10-minute piece that constantly stays afloat – a very exciting taste of what’s to come in October. View the video below to fulfil your needs to watch guitarist Joey Walker enthusiastically dancing through the streets.
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