Can anything surprise us that much anymore from a band who've released 17 records in about 10 years? Well, maybe. Butterfly 300, the new one from Aussies King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, surprises in its arrival and in its capacity to offer up blissed-out indie. It's a fun record, and one which serves up some real pleasures.
"Yours" soars to open the album, while "Shanghai" is a bit trippier. This one finds Stu Mackenzie cooing over bleeps and pops, and a solid drum pattern. For newbies, this is heir to stuff we heard from The Flaming Lips and Super Furry Animals in years past. This whole release leans heavily on keyboards, and to great success on "Dreams", the sort of number Tampe Impala would kill to have written. Chirpy and lovely, the cut is insistent and damn catchy.
Butterfly 300 veers off into more expansive territory with "Interior People", a composition that reminds me a bit of late-period Supergrass. The synths seem more subdued here, with the percussion and slinky vocals holding this one together. When the tunes are not quite so hyper, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard really do manage to charm. When the cuts are all pitched at a lightning-fast tempo, a listener gets sucked in but has a hard time distinguishing one selection from another. The overall effect remains impressive, however, with nothing on Butterfly 300 making a listener bored.
Butterfly 300 is out today via KGLW
More details on King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard via the official website.
[Photo: Jason Galea]