King Gizard and the Lizard Wizard are one of the few bands out there who could start off an album with a song that’s over eighteen minutes long and everyone would think that’s a perfectly normal thing to do. Their new record, Omnium Gatherum, does just that with “The Dripping Tap.”
The album almost sounds like a greatest hits record, as KGATLW move back and forth between genres, time signatures, tuning preferences, and distortion levels. “The Dripping Tap” is a wild psychedelic freak-out, the kind that first got the band noticed just a decade or so ago (although it seems longer due to the massive output the band has generated in such a short time). “Magenta Mountain” starts off with soothing keyboard tones and then drops in slick beats that are perfect for a stroll or cruising on a Jet-Ski.
The funky bass on “Kepler-22b” takes you into outer space and encourages you to have a good time there (as do the lyrics). “Gaia” takes us back to Earth with re-entry burn riffs. Then, just to confuse ads, they drops “Ambergris,” a bedroom slow-jam that would fit on a Thundercat record. “Sadie Sorceress,” believe it or not, is a rap track – and it works.
“Evilest Man” is electro krautrock mixed with roaring riffs and smashing cymbals that sounds like something they accidentally left off Nonagon Infinity. “The Garden Goblin” is a fun, bouncy track that could’ve been listed on Fishing for Fishies, as could “Persistence.” “The Grim Reaper” is another hip hop track, complete with trippy flute loops.
“Presumptuous” bounces with Outkast-like pep. “Predator X” is a return to hard-hitting thrash metal, countered nicely by the trippy “Red Smoke” and “Candles,” which literally has the band singing, “Wheee!” at one point. The album closes with an instrumental – “The Funeral,” an interesting name choice for the final track, and an interesting choice to close the record with a track that only has vocal sounds and no lyrics.
Omnium Gatherum is a great place to jump on the Gizzard Train if you’re new to the band. It showcases so many styles they can play, and play well, that you’re sure to like at least a few things here.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have released “Magenta Mountain,” a new track/video from their forthcoming album, Omnium Gatherum, which will be released April 22nd via the band’s KGLW label, and is available for pre-order now. It follows the majestic lead single, “The Dripping Tap.” Some tracks on Omnium Gatherum return to the synth-psych visions of Butterfly 3000, like the neon pop of “Magenta Mountain.” King Gizz’s Ambrose Kenny-Smith elaborates on the track: “You know when you have a really weird vivid dream and it sticks with you like glue? One day I came into the studio and Stu was trying to write one of them down. He kept banging on about this paradise called Magenta Mountain that he had seen but none of us believed him. Every day since then he’s been still trying to convince us all that it’s real and one day he will.”
The band has played the track at their shows before, but this is the official studio recording release. This video, directed by John Angus Stewart, is synched to one of the band’s live performances in Melbourne. “‘Magenta Mountain’ is a new track, which can always be a tricky one to film live as people are yet to have digested the song on their own,” says Stewart. “So we decided to use the normally unseen infrastructure of a gig to guide us through the performance. Giving the audience a ‘protagonist’ for a live show, in this case the watchful and sometimes forceful eye of a security guard. The brute in hi-vis clearing a path through sweaty fans is a beautiful thing to behold.”
Following 2020’s KG and 2021’s LW and Butterfly 3000, Omnium Gatherum was the first time King Gizzard recorded together as a band since the COVID pandemic hit, and Melbourne placed its citizens under a series of prohibitive lockdown measures. Omnium Gatherum’s sprawling 16 tracks of gonzoid prog jams, dizzying pop nuggets, rubber-legged hip-hop odysseys and passages of pure thrash-metal abandon offer plenty for Gizzard fans and neophytes alike to chew on. Typically, Gizzard albums pursue a single theme or style – for example,Infest The Rat’s Nest’s eco-themed metal barrage, or Butterfly 3000’s new age trance-pop, or Nonagon Infinity’s endless garage-prog contortions – and part of the thrill of Omnium Gatherum for the group was the opportunity of new ideas without committing to deliver an entire album in that vein. It’s the perfect entry point for newcomers, and a solid treat for the faithful as well.
Omnium Gatherum feels like a Greatest Hits album, in its variety and the strength of the songs – only you’ve never heard any of these tracks before. It’s the sound of a group operating at their absolute peak, a group motivated by a deserved confidence that they could try their hands at anything. It’s also the sound of a group ready to return to the road after two fallow years – a handful of live shows in Australia, performed in the brief windows between lockdowns, has reawakened King Gizzard’s taste for live action.
They’ll kick off their North American tour next month. Following, they’ll play shows across Europe and then return to the states this fall. Tickets are on sale now and a list of shows can be found below. To say that they’re “up for it” would be a dizzying exercise in understatement.
OMNIUM GATHERUM TRACKLISTING: 1. The Dripping Tap 2. Magenta Mountain 3. Kepler-22b 4. Gaia 5. Ambergris 6. Sadie Sorceress 7. Evilest Man 8. The Garden Goblin 9. Blame It On The Weather 10. Persistence 11. The Grim Reaper 12. Presumptuous 13. Predator X 14. Red Smoke 15. Candles 16. The Funeral
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD TOUR DATES
Fri. April 22 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Sun. April 24 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Madonna Inn $ SOLD OUT Tue. April 26 – Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu $ SOLD OUT Wed. April 27 – Petaluma, CA @ Phoenix Theater $ SOLD OUT Thu. April 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club ? SOLD OUT Sat. April 30 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival Wed. May 4 – Monterrey, MX @ Showcenter Fri. May 6 – Mexico City, MX @ Quarry Studios Sun. May 8 – Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, MX @ Loot/Musa Sat. May 14 – Queretaro, MX@ Jardin Hercules Sun. May 15 – Guadalajara, MX @ Teatro Estudio Guanamor Fri. May 20 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre & SOLD OUT Sat. May 21 – Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live! Outdoor & Sun. May 22 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre & SOLD OUT Tue. May 24 – Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall & SOLD OUT Wed. May 25 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground & SOLD OUT Thu. May 26 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground &SOLD OUT Sat. May 28 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival Tue. May 31 – Athens, GR @ Gagarin 205 Wed. June 1 – Athens, GR @ Gagarin 205 Fri. June 3 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound – SOLD OUT Sun. June 5 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera in the City SOLD OUT Mon. June 6 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera in the City SOLD OUT Tue. June 7 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera in the City SOLD OUT Thu. June 9 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound – SOLD OUT Sat. June 11 – Mannheim, DE @ Maifeld Derby Festival Sun June 12 – HIlvarenbeek NL @ Best Kept Secret Tue. June 14 – Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom Fri. June 17 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Sat. June 18 – Miami, FL @ Space Park & Sun. July 31 – Waterford, IE @ All Together Now Tue. Aug. 2 – Šibenik, HR @ St. Michael’s Fortress √ Wed. Aug. 3 – Šibenik, HR @ St. Michael’s Fortress √ Fri. Aug. 5 – Prague, CZ @ Archa Theatre √ Sun. Aug. 7 – Vienna, AT @ Arena Wien (Open Air) √ Tue. Aug. 9 – Leipzig, DE @ Parkbühne √ Wed. Aug. 10 – Munich, DE @ Tonhalle √ Fri. Aug. 12 – Sion, CH @ Palp Festival Sun Aug 14- Helsinki, FIN @ Flow Festival Wed. Aug. 17 – Paredes de Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival Fri. Aug. 19 – Gueret, FR @ Check-In Party Festival Sat. Aug. 20 – Saint-Malo, FR @ La Route du Rock Festival Sun. Aug. 21 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop Tue. Aug. 23 – Cologne, DE @ E-Werk √ Wed. Aug. 24 – Hamburg, DE @ Markthalle √ Fri Aug 26- London, UK @ All Points East Sat. Aug. 27 – Málaga, ES @ Canela Party Sun. Oct. 2 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre * SOLD OUT Tue. Oct. 4 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater* SOLD OUT Wed. Oct. 5 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum* Thu. Oct. 6 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre * Mon. Oc. 10 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre* SOLD OUT Tue. Oct. 11 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre* SOLD OUT Fri. Oct. 14 – St Paul, MN @ The Palace Theatre* SOLD OUT Sat. Oct. 15 – Chicago, IL @ RADIUS* SOLD OUT Sun. Oct. 16 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple* Tue. Oct. 18 – Toronto, ON @ History* SOLD OUT Wed. Oct. 19 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia* Fri. Oct. 21 – New York, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium* Sat. Oct. 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall* SOLD OUT Sun. Oct. 23 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem at The Wharf* Mon. Oct. 24 – Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit* Wed. Oct. 26 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern* Thu. Oct. 27 – New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater * Mon. Oct. 31 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion #
^ w/ Mildlife ~ w/ Mildlife, DJ Crenshaw % w/ Amyl and the Sniffers, SPELLLING, DJ Crenshaw ! w/ The Chats, SPELLLING, DJ Crenshaw $ w/ SPELLLING, DJ Crenshaw ? w/ SPELLLING & w/ Jess Cornelius * w/ Leah Senior # w/ The Murlocs, Leah Senior √ w/ Grace Cummings
