king gizzard & the lizard wizard
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Keep Getting Bigger, And They’re as Surprised as Anyone
Australian rock band King Gizzard the Lizard Wizard are often dinged for their at times unbelievable level of recorded output — 20 studio albums since 2012, including five in 2017 alone (each in a different musical style), umpteen official and unofficial live releases, a tour documentary soundtrack, rarities collections, one-off singles and wickedly creative music videos. But as the group’s catalog grows, so does its worldwide audience, which is poised to make 2022 the biggest year in Gizzard history. Indeed, the band is achieving any number of new milestones in the weeks ahead, from selling out two Red Rocks shows eight months in advance (a third was just added), to playing their largest New York-area concert to date in October at the 13,000-capacity Forest Hills Tennis Stadium and reachi...
Watch King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Swirling New Video
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are slated to release their second record of 2022, and the band shared the album’s third single, “Kepler-22b,” today. [embedded content][embedded content] The “Kepler-22b” accompanying Alex McLaren-directed video is all sorts of crafty. As compilations of claymation, crayon drawings, and paper collages all swirl together. The new single samples Barney Mcall’s “Yemaya One,” which guitarist Cook Craig says he found at a store in New York. “I hadn’t heard any of his stuff before,” Craig said in a statement, “but remember putting it on and being blown away straight up. I remember thinking damn this is literally a sampler’s dream. It took me a while before I actually realized he was from Melbourne too. I guess it’s funny like that, sometimes you gotta travel...
Exit Interview: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard on Butterfly 3000, ‘Jammy’ New Music
When I call up Stu Mackenzie in mid-November for a year-end recap, there’s already way too much to talk about. His band, Australian psych-prog shapeshifters King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, recently announced a 2022 world tour; and they’ve brightened up this dismal pandemic era with three studio albums (including our 24th-best of 2021, Butterfly 3000) and two live LPs. But news breaks quickly in the Gizzverse: In the few weeks since, they released another live record, announced a remix album, expanded their tour, detailed their own New Year’s festival, and teased a limited-edition LP (available for free to all fest attendees). That prolificacy is nothing new: In their banner year of 2017, they put out five fascinating — and sonically unique — studio albums. In the time betwe...
The 30 Best Albums of 2021
Back in June, SPIN published The 30 Best Albums of 2021 (So Far), rounding up everything from mainstream rock to experimental hip-hop. Six months later, we’re back with our year-end recap — and it’s interesting how, even though the stylistic balance has stayed consistent, the picks themselves haven’t. While this list also covers a lot of ground, only six of those earlier records wound up in our final tally. Below, you’ll find massive R&B collaborations (Silk Sonic), trendy pop breakouts (Olivia Rodrigo), big-ticket indie-rock (The War on Drugs), prog-metal giants (Mastodon), and acclaimed indie-rap (Benny the Butcher & Harry Fraud). Looking back at Pandemic Year Number Two, when the music industry forecast seemed to shift on a daily basis, perhaps these changes are only fittin...
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Unveil 2022 World Tour
In support of their newest record, Butterfly 3000, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are set to embark on a lengthy 2022 world tour. Beginning next March at Lollapalooza Argentina in Buenos Aires, the psychedelic rock band is scheduled for some of their biggest festival appearances, including shows at Shaky Knees and Primavera Sound. Also taking on some of their largest venues yet, King Gizzard are returning to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for a two-night sold-out stint. The Red Rocks and shows at the Greek in Berkeley, California are set to be the band’s famous three-hour marathon concerts. Tickets for newly announced U.S. dates go on sale at noon EST this Friday, November 19. Supporting acts that are joining King Gizzard on the road include Amyl and the Sniffers, SPELLLING, DJ Crenshaw...
The 50 Best Rock Bands Right Now
First, let’s take care of the obvious. Despite the still-persistent narrative that such music is “dead,” there are way more than 50 excellent rock bands out there. And there’s no exact science to scooping the cream of the crop. Our list includes arena-packing veterans but also semi-obscure indie acts who’ve barely escaped their basements. There are no hard rules here. Our methodology was simple: ask our writers and staff which rock bands feel worthy of recognition right now. But we did aim for a wide scope — throughout, you’ll find flavors of psych, post-punk, hardcore, metal, even country. If it feels like rock, it’s on the table. Consider SPIN‘s 2021 roundup — just like last year’s — a thermometer, taking the temperature of modern rock in all its various mutations. Altın Gün Ho...
The 30 Best Albums of 2021 (So Far)
Despite what some “best of” blurb intros may tell you, there is no exact science to list-making. And constructing one so methodically just might ruin the joy altogether — for both us, the curators, and you, the readers. Even though debate is a natural reaction, anger is not. These stories are supposed to be fun! And hopefully unique — who wants to read the exact same list at every publication? Sure, SPIN’s Best Albums of 2021 (So Far) does feature some of the year’s biggest buzz bands. But we hope you’ll also discover some records that slipped through the cracks — and maybe, just maybe, reconsider some LPs you previously dismissed. Let’s meet back here in six months and see how things shake out. Adjective Animal – America’s Got Talons CREDIT: Adjective Animal For over a decade, Jon Bi...
