King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce New Album, Release New Song

One stereotype about fans of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is that they really like to talk about KGATLW. We probably should have let a non-fanatic write this article, but what are you going to do. Some of you are probably here just for the music, so here’s the new video.

The band who couldn’t seem to stop releasing music in 2017 spent most of 2018 avoiding the studio. After releasing five albums the previous year, they took their deep catalog on a world tour. The last date of their tour the set consisted of several-song mixes from recent albums, capped off with a 20-minute medley of older songs. It felt like a recap of their relatively short but unbelievably prolific career.

Even in their down time, the band didn’t seem to get must rest. In October the band announced five reissues of their early catalog through Flightless Records, which is run by drummer Eric Moore, and ATO Records. Rumors appeared of new music in the works as well, with singer Stu Mackenzie quoted saying he hopes to release multiple albums in 2019.

With time off in late 2018, there seemed to be a bit of a reset. After a year away from the studio, reissue mania, and world tour, King Gizzard turned to the future. The band dropped a new single, “Cyboogie” in late January 2019 which signified a new tone to their music. This new song includes no guitars, and was accompanied by a retro-looking, wacky music video featuring Mackenzie starring as a mechanized keyboard/computer. The tone of the music shifted to a much more electronic feel.

A week after the release of their latest single came the news of a North American tour featuring “a new set, new songs and a whole new visual experience”. This was quickly followed by leaks of Fishing For Fishies, an unannounced new album.  An album cover, track listing, and song previews circulated the internet. Fans across the web took this and ran with it.

While the 7-member band may come across as gimmicky to some, others have dove straight into the universe created around the band’s music. The Gizzverse, as fans have called it, is formed by fan theories about the music, lyrics, artwork (created by regular collaborator Jason Galea), and themes present over the bands soon-to-be fourteen releases, particularly the albums released since 2014. The band has never officially commented on the existence of this fantasy universe, but characters and lyrics are unquestionably present across multiple releases.

One of the most popular, and often polarizing figures of the Gizzverse is Han-Tyumi. The fictional cyborg is the main character of Han-Tyumi & The Murder of the Universe. Fans have pointed out his voice appearing in several other albums, and have linked the latest album’s artwork, which features a robot in overalls fishing, to the character. Sloothy fans even found his voice in “Cyboogie”, when the record is played backwards.

The leaked song previews show the new album beginning with the bright and happy new track, “Fishing For Fishies”, and gradually getting dark and electronic. Pair this with the cyber-themed visuals and sounds of what’s released so far, and some speculate that the album contains the story of how this murderous cyborg came to be. Even if this isn’t the case, it might be safe to assume Han-Tyumi will make an appearance on the album.

If this seems daunting, new listeners shouldn’t let the lore and speculation scare them. The band’s music is the central part of the experience, and can be enjoyed on multiple levels. While the band focuses on psychedelic rock, their history of bouncing between influences makes the possibility of a diverse set of sounds on this new album likely.

Fishing For Fishies is out April 26 on ATO Records in the United States

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