For their eighth (!!!) release in three years, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard give the world Butterfly 3000. It is hard to know what to expect from this band of Aussies. They have spanned the genre spectrum with metal, garage-psychedelia, Turkish-psych rock, and seemingly all the spaces in between. Butterfly 3000 leans heavily on synths for the bulk of its material, but still has connective tissue that lets it relate to their two previous releases K.G. and L.W. They produce and record their records themselves and it is interesting to listen to their growth through experimentation as time goes on. If you are not familiar with the band, pick a spot and jump in, but be prepared to be surprised by the next thing you choose to explore.
I would guess that they have been spending some time listening to bands like Can and Kraftwerk in the morning and Panda Bear and Animal Collective at night, making Butterfly 3000 during the warm hours of the day. But that is not to say the entirety of this album is keyboard driven. "Interior People" in the middle of the record straddles the line between the Turkish-psych folk of "Honey" off of 2020's K.G. but still manages to be a good fit for this collection with the driving beat channeling Can's "One More Night", and the weaving in of supportive keys. I swear there is the ghost of an old Doobie Brothers song somewhere in there as well. Go figure.
I'm sure another release is right around the corner so give this a listen so you are all brought up to speed and ready for the next one.
I chatted with KGLW's Stu MacKenzie for the Tape Op Podcast, so check that out HERE!
-GS
