King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - L.W. (2021) [Hi-Res]

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are back again...again. The follow-up to 2020’s K.G. is the aptly titled L.W. - and the Australian band have picked up exactly where they left off.

Opener, 'If Not Now, Then When?' begins right where K.G.’s closer ('The Hungry Wolf of Fate') left off. It quickly lurches from a Sabbath-esque jam into a funky, key-led groove. This track is dripping in K.G., the guitar refrains and elements of pretty much all instruments calling back to L.W.’s predecessor.

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From here, L.W. maintains its funky trajectory, the track 'O.N.E' is a groovy cut that, like K.G., strays away from traditional Western rock tropes: King Gizz have taken elements of microtonal instruments and sounds, and blended them with their unique brand of guitar music.

This theme is expanded upon in 'Pleura', where these influences meet crunchy guitar head on. Not many bands could pull off such a feat, but King Gizz are so tight as a musical ensemble that they are able to weave the threads of influences intricately, crafting another great-sounding record.

If the dual albums K.G. and L.W. are the ‘ultimate’ King Gizz records, then the track 'Supreme Ascendancy' is a track that seems to capture the essence of these records in a bottle - it mixes the wide variety of influences that Gizz draw from as well as utilising a variety of instruments, from harp to classic electric guitar.

L.W. takes a different direction next with 'Static Electricity' which begins acoustically before metamorphosing into a thunderous, driving beast of a song. Its undeniable rhythm gets right under your skin in the best way possible.

Gizz return to more familiar territory with the track 'Ataraxia', a lo-fi cut that features bongos and synth sounds that are right out of a Star Wars film. The track ebbs and flows from loud to quiet, Michael Cavanagh’s drumming really shining through with perfectly-timed, thunderous fills.

The album draws to a close with yet stronger tracks. 'See Me' continues to challenge traditional Western rock ideals, Gizz maintaining their usage of eclectic instrumentation and sounding like Frank Zappa as they go. It only gets better from here - 'K.G.L.W.' is an absolute behemoth of a track. Similar to the closer on K.G., this cut is pure Sabbath. Dark and meaty guitar straight out of the Tony Iommi playbook lead into a grungey sounding song with the band chanting “K.G.L.W” throughout. This track is a real standout of the two records and will sound massive on the live stage.

First with K.G. and now on L.W., King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have released the two ultimate King Gizz records.