Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava

On the surface and with no context, this is a tight-but-loose, lengthy album of jammy material. Known for being able to produce high-concept albums that span sci-fi realms and music theory wizardry, it's refreshing that King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard can also tone it down and let improvisation flow. They've captured the vibe of six musicians coming together with a shared goal I mind, and retained the fresh feeling of composing on the move that doesn't always survive the demo stage.

It's an enjoyable album if that's all you know about it, but as with everything they do it becomes more interesting if we go a little deeper. Approaching the recording of the album, the band had very little material to go on with. They established 7 song titles, with a tempo and key based on Greek modes for each piece, but no preconceived riffs or melodies. Hitting the studio for a week, they spent each day recording ideas for each song. Then, Stu Mackenzie took to arranging and rearranging the ideas into cohesive songs, with overdubs and vocals added later. That gets us to why the album sounds consistently fresh and light.

As for the lyrics, each band member adopted a totem relating to the album title. This is the most collaborative they've been with lyrics, with all members pitching in. The variety of input adds to the broad atmosphere of the album, some lyrics cut like a knife, some put a silly smile on your face. The links to a snake eating its tail in the song Lava sent me down a rabbit hole of researching the Ouroboros for a while. The boys still have that knack of effortlessly making you curious about whatever cultural/scientific/historical/religious subject they reference. Speaking of, there's plenty to dig into across the album if that's what you're into.

For an album so steeped in musicianship and theory, it has no business sounding as casual and fluffy as it does at times. And that's the magic of the album! Even the biggest music theory boffin would be able to get lost in the moment and stop analysing it. It's a true testament to how far the band have come with their abilities to create unique sounding albums.

For my personal highlights, Lava is beautifully meditative, with a slow but constant rise in energy throughout. Ice V is belligerent in making you want to dance. Mycelium is the pure sort of fun usually reserved for an energetic puppy with its favourite toy.

A deceptively nourishing album that could easily be mistaken for a snack.