By Hanna Broderick – Entertainment Editor

Melbourne psych-rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard released their 17th studio album “LW” on February 25.

“LW” is a nine-track album and a seamless continuation of 2020’s “KG” as all of the songs were recorded together with the same microtonal and experimental style. Songs from both albums featured the guitar that was built for King Gizzard’s first album of 2017, “Flying Microtonal Banana.”

The first three tracks were released as singles in the time between November 2020’s “KG” and February 2021’s “LW.” Track one, “If Not Now, Then When?” presents a funky beat which is then complimented by the dreamlike melody of track 2, “O.N.E.” Then in a very ‘Gizzard-like’ fashion, this is interrupted on track 3, “Pleura.” The song is dark, gory and the drumming is definitely the highlight of this track.

The album continues to use Turkish influences throughout which adds to the kind of universe that the band creates through their music. The layered acoustic sounds in “Static Electricity” adds such a magic to the album while carrying through the Turkish/Microtonal feel of the duo albums.

“East West Link” is a song to show how the band feels about the proposed highway to be built in Melbourne. Lines, “We can build a road / We can cut a tree / We can shoot a bird / Nobody will see” adds to King Gizzard’s prior messages about the way we treat our planet.

The over eight minute closer “K.G.L.W.” which is the same track title name KG opened with that also connects the dots for a looping double record if played together and a nod back to the continuous tracking found on Nonagon Infinity. This track really closes out the album in the best way possible, with the classic dark tone of many of their songs and with the instrumentals to back it up fans can’t help but want to bop their head. 

As a whole, the album has some good tracks but out of their 17 studio albums they’ve released over the past 10 years, it’s not anything incredible considering some of their prior albums. In the end, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is a real band experimenting with electricity to make music for people to enjoy across the world.