King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – Changes Review
Changes is not an unfamiliar sound but a new and explorative soulful jazz record, filled with futuristic inclusions that somehow push the stylistic boundaries of this band even further.
Five years ago, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard released five albums in one year. For their fans, 2017 defined an era of their sound that has been impossible to forget. From their first forays into microtonal, tuning to psychedelic jazz fusion, King Gizzard expanded their musical repertoire in ways most bands cannot even conceptualize. But even beyond the staggering five albums of 2017, another project was started, but just out of reach of completion.
Now, in 2022, King Gizzard is releasing five albums in a year again. The last of which is the unfinished album of 2017 titled Changes. Intended to be the final album in 2017 instead of Gumboot Soup, this record has been through many changes (no pun intended). Elusive in its completeness, lead man Stu Mackenzie had begun toying with the songs that would later become this album while on the road five years ago.
While not the group's most complex record, the concept this time is built around the idea that each song should oscillate between two different scales, changing every chord. Similar to the final track of 2015's Paper Mache Dream Balloon, which includes aspects of the entire record's sounds, the album behaves like a cycle of songs, where each track is a variation of the themes found in the title track.
As the years passed and the band grew tighter, the ideas never ran too far from the band's minds. The members themselves had been changing, and after realizing this record could be their second time to release five albums in a year, the band knew they had to finish it. A few days before their legendary set at Bonnaroo in June, Mackenzie mastered the album, took a walk, and relished his memories of where the band had come from, all those albums and years ago.
Earlier this month, Gizztober officially began. With two albums already released this month, a short film titled "Sleeping Monster" released days ago, and finally, Changes releasing, the band has once again over-delivered. As their latest record begins to feel the needle of a record player or transferred through the air of streaming, fans are sure to fall in love with one of their best releases to date.
Changes is not an unfamiliar sound but a new and explorative soulful jazz record, filled with futuristic inclusions that somehow push the stylistic boundaries of this band even further. Beyond jazz, there are moments of psychedelic glam-rock, dream-pop, prog, and even slow, vibing 90's hip-hop. Mainly featured in the album's title track, these sounds come together as an overarching collection of melodies to be returned to later in the album. With verses from all three frontmen of the group (Mackenzie, Kenny-Smith, and Walker), this epic 13-minute masterpiece will undoubtedly become one of King Gizzard's most iconic songs.
Listeners can tell that this record is more than just oscillating chord changes and a transitive piece of music from one of the world's most prolific bands. Many of the song's lyrics speak of looming destruction and the future of humankind, but throughout the album. Similar to 2021's Butterfly 3000, metamorphic stakes are being played. The Melbourne boys are going through changes.
King Gizzard dropped the single "Hate Dancin'" five days after releasing Laminated Denim, their second album of the month. And while this peek into the album was enough to stave off their voracious fans, it was still only a glimpse. Upbeat and groovy, this track explores how good music can change bad moods. From hating dancing to freaking out from the waist down, this track carries us from soft, piano-led melodies haunted by uncertain synthesizers into a rocking outro akin to the track before it.
"Astroturf," on the other hand, changes the vibe completely. With alien synths and mystical flutes, this track combines funk and futility in the best way. The imagery of the band as a group of helpless, heartbroken butterflies crying over the mutated, plastic earth, set on a path to self-destruction to satisfy convenience. Mackenzie's syncopated fluting, along with the tight drums of Michael Cavanagh and hip bassline grooves of Luke Harwood, shine on this record in two-and-a-half minutes of glorious jazzy jamming.
Even still, the variety of genres in this record changes again as fuzzy guitars and vintage keys take over in "No Body." This melting prog enlightenment speaks of reincarnation, backed up by Cavanagh's rapid drumfire and soulful electric guitar wails from Mackenzie and Walker.
And with the final note of the guitars comes the rapid, synth-driven future-pop, that is, "Gondii." Thing song has a pop groove that could feature in a geometry dash level set to the maximum difficulty. Another fantastic representation of just how explorative the group can be, they bring more futuristic synths and grooves than they ever have before. With a forceful presence throughout the track's lyrics, it whirs off in explosions, warning of a fateful transition into an uncontrollable future.
And similar to the end of everything, "Exploding Suns" offers a transcendent climax to the album's central themes. Eerie synths, thumping bass, clashing gongs, and sipping synths grace another one of King Gizzard's best slow jams. Who knows, perhaps the sun could explode at any time, but in that thought experiment, the band translated the peace behind the end without warning.
As the former track vanishes along with everything else, the familiar theme kicks back in from the end of the lead track. This time with marimbas, distorted keys, screeching guitar, and ascending and descending scales, "Short Change" closes the album in a victorious yet disturbing finale, capped off by the dichotomous lyrics of both the change for the good and possibly worse.
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard is set to complete another epic year of tours and releases that seems like just the start. With the release of Changes, the future is brighter than ever. The band could go in any direction; let's be honest, it will probably be a hit. But as the group and the world around them change, so will their sound and style. The slow burn of this album sinks into the skin with every listen. Warm and fuzzy reverberations tingle the follicles, while strange and groovy resonances make the hair stand on end. Find a place to vibe and face the changes.