King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – The Silver Cord
October 27th, 2023
Progressive Electronica
Flightless Records
Melbourne, Australia
The shock of all shocks: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are back with yet another new record, their second full length effort in 2023. Following the long-winded PetroDragonic Apocalypse, which I enjoyed quite a bit, the band has decided to yet again delve into a different genre. Departing from the thrash-flavoured progressive metal of the previous record, The Silver Cord is actually an electronic record, embracing waves of synthesizers that wash over the listener pleasantly, as opposed to the rough, aggressive riffage of the last album.
Make no mistake, however. As quickly as the Gizz’ switch genres I’m able to slip into them. It truly feels as though this band can do no wrong for as soon as they decide to step a foot into something you’d never expect them to, I find myself loving it all the same. I think perhaps it may be the band’s propensity for crafting memorable, infectious melodies, regardless of what instrument or style of vocal delivery is creating them. This trend is continued over onto The Silver Cord as the band crafts seven songs of upbeat, grandiose synth-pop that experiments with time signatures and tempo changes, consisting of equal parts Perturbator and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Indeed this album is quite positive and uplifting in terms of its sonic textures. There’s little here in the way of darkness as the band has seen fit to provide the listener with expertly crafted pop melodies that sound like an auditory representation of sunshine, rainbows and happiness. Some of these songs, such as the title track itself, “The Silver Cord”, feel eerily reminiscent of pop songs I’ve already heard from other artists, though with that extra King Gizzard flair that makes them stand out all on their own. The darkest the band ever really gets is perhaps on the song “Set” with its pulsating rhythms and Stu Mackenzie repeating over and over “slay the mighty Set” for the chorus. It’s downright hypnotic.
Speaking of “Set”, you’d be remiss to think that this record sticks to one genre. There is the occasional foray into hip hop on this album, with the track “Set” being one of those moments. As with one of the band’s previous records, Omnium Gatherum, the band has proven to be rhythmically talented when it comes their spittin’ written abilities. Embracing the kind of flow and enunciation and affectation of the Beastie Boys, the few rapped verses that appear on this record are a welcome chang’e from most of the other vocal presentation here.
The vocals themselves mostly consist of the high pitched melodic vocals that Mackenzie is known for. Reminding me of other pop and alternative and indie rock artists, his voice is perfectly suited for the kind of music found on this record. I think a comparison to MGMT is incredibly apt given how electronic, proggy, and downright weird this music is, while still remaining firmly planted in the world of accessibility. Perhaps if nothing else King Gizzard have nailed the ability to be both heavily experimental while remaining accessible to the average music fan. No easy feat.
While not my favourite release from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, this album is still fucking awesome, just as I expected. Pretty much everything I’ve ever heard from this Australian collective has been badass and super fun to listen to, and The Silver Cord is no exception to that. I’ve only grown to love this band more and more over the years and this will certainly be an album that I return to time and time again as time passes on. This is absolutely worth checking out for all the music nerds out there.
Final Verdict: 8/10
Great
Favourite Tracks:
“Theia”
“Set”
“Chang’e”
“Swan Song”
~ Akhenaten
Where Strides The Behemoth? 