KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - “PHANTOM ISLAND” REVIEW
Written by Beau Croxton
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard by Maclay Heriot
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: JUNE
Prolific psych-rock shapeshifters King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard find a beautiful creative peak with their rich orchestral opus Phantom Island— it’s a gorgeous and immersive journey that adds a whole new dimension (and another star) to their sonic universe.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard launch their 27th record (since 2011..!) with their new orchestra-infused album, Phantom Island, and yes, they are still finding new ways to broaden their endless range. Much like its intricate album cover, Phantom Island is a gorgeous, fun and vividly animated journey with many beautiful details that reveal themselves upon further inspection.
When King Gizzard recorded their 2024 album Flight b741, they recorded 20 songs. 10 uptempo songs went to Flight b741, and 10 more “spacious” tracks went to Phantom Island. Bandleader Stu Mackenzie felt the Phantom songs could use a “splash of color” beyond the simple garage-rock sound of Flight b741, so he rang his conductor friend Chad Kelly to ask him to bring his orchestral magic to these tunes. The orchestral integration is quite a splash of color, making Phantom Island feel like the sonic equivalent to a dreamy Van Gogh painting – it's a swirling, and stunning touch of grandiose for their brand of psychedelia.
If Flight b741 was King Gizzard’s attempt at a bluesy Exile On Main Street type album, Phantom Island often feels closer to the spirit of Sgt. Pepper’s or Magical Mystery Tour, considering it’s a very whimsical, oddly animated and fascinating world. It’s a more sonically sophisticated record for the band with a grander palette due to 24-piece orchestra. Phantom Island also features alternating verses by their many members in each song. The album carries the same 60’s/70’s classic rock attitude of Flight b741, but it expands further into dashes of psych-pop, folk, classical, progressive psychedelia, brass-heavy disco, soft-rock, jazzy lounge-music and even touches of spooky flamenco. Despite having many new sounds for the band, Phantom Island’s (mostly) chill and beautiful energy feels like an orchestral spiritual sequel to their more light and delightful albums like 2015’s Paper Mache Dream Balloon and 2017’s Sketches of Brunswick East. At the same time — Phantom Island’s scope feels larger than life with its orchestral ambition.
Occult is here with a track-by-track-review for our Album of the Month : Phantom Island
Title track “Phantom Island” is where we enter King Gizzard’s own Fantasia. The opus begins with cinematic strings, brass and piano flirting until they build into a dramatic crescendo that lands in a groovy and sophisticated disco section. Descending pianos zig-zag marvelously through smooth brass sections. It really takes you into the fantastical world of the album suggested by the striking album cover. The track is a psychological journey of delirium– bandleader Stu Mackenzie makes a great point in his first verse with the fantastic lyrics “I suppose sanity is easy to lose and hard to find.” Band member Cook Craig’s verse is even more animated and whimsical, backed with strings in a total Disney moment.
The outro is a beast; a piano motif (that would make for a good speed-metal riff) riles up the rest of the band into a proggy fit. The outro roars with the drumming of Michael “Cavs” Cavanaugh, who brings a very technical and vicious approach that recalls the intro of “Dragon”, from 2023’s PetroDragonic Apocalypse. The outro also explodes with a feral verse from Ambrose Kenny-Smith, where he commands you to “Bow down to Set and Typhon!” like some manic phantom preacher. This multi-phased track deserves to go down as a King Gizz classic– its multiple sections embody so much of the creative fruition of this band. This masterwork gives the record such an unbelievable start, which makes it so addicting to run back.
“Deadstick” stomps in with the hip-shaking Chicago-soul of the Blues Brothers, the pumping horns of Sam & Dave and the Rolling Stones swagger of Flight b741. It channels the glam-blues adrenaline of the best tunes from their predecessor album, and has a passionate, belted verse from guitarist Joey Walker. Ambrose Kenny-Smith (yet again) brings this track to its fun-filled peak. The horns blasting as Kenny Smith declares “Mayday! Save me!” are pure Motown drama. “Deadstick” is rock n’ roll fun that’s filled to the brim with excitement and jazzy horns.
This record starts with a big bang, but (again) it mostly thrives with mellow and gorgeous music. The band also hits you in the feels; their perspectives are often melancholy, mature, philosophical, and heartfelt as they bring their tales into the stars and sea.
“Lonely Cosmos” opens with an intoxicating string section and a verse by Stu Mackenzie, which is sung with an expert sense of melancholic vibrato. Kenny-Smith and Cook Craig’s verses are delightfully joyous, as climbing basslines and plucking strings weave you through the cosmic abyss. String sections begin to dive-bomb to convey the vast uncertainties of the galaxy in a very artsy and bold move, which marvelously utilizes the orchestra. Towards the end, exotic and dark guitar work flourishes in spooky jams with jittering strings. These ghostly jam sections sound similar to the band’s outro to “You Can Be Your Silhouette”, but with a symphony– which makes things sound like a mix of Sketches of Brunswick East, Paper Mache Dream Balloon, Flight b741 and Disney’s Fantasia all in one. Just incredible! “Lonely Cosmos” is one of the brightest pearls on Phantom Island.
Phantom Island album artwork — by Jason Galea . Out now on p(doom) Records
A brilliant transition of slide guitar glides us into a sea of sweeping strings on “Eternal Return”. It begins with blissfull psych, akin to “Bittersweet Symphony”, and dives into zany funk, hazy psychedelia and doo-wop excursions…their creativity runs wild. The song title references the philosophical concept of Eternal Return (which states time repeats itself in an infinite loop) as a clever metaphor for the band's nonstop cycle of touring and returning home. For a band that mostly dabbles in fiction, it’s refreshing to hear them share their complex feelings of constant global touring. The song’s outro is stunning; beautiful slide guitar and strings engage in call-and-response behind Mackenzie’s doo-wop vocals, as even more layers of yearning vocal harmonies sweep through in waves. Like much of the record, the mix is intricately layered and makes each consecutive listen even sweeter than the last.
“Panpsych” is a peppy and cute song about the higher planes of mind. “Panpsychism” is the theory that everything has a consciousness, which is explored more in the track “Silent Spirit”…with King Gizzard, there is always lore. “Panpsych” expands on the disco-groove of the title track and struts joyously with marching band fanfare and CSNY-style harmonies. “We are omnipresent/ intertwined horoscope!” Kenny-Smith declares, sounding amusingly like Captain Beefhart on a jovial Magical Mystery Tour. Mackenzie encourages you to “Find your zen; embrace the journey”-- It's a heady and cheerful affair. “Panpsych” takes a few listens to grasp, but it's totally one of the best tracks.
From here, The B-side is more laid back with more “slow jams”. If Side A is like a vivid beach-day on Phantom Island, side B-side is more akin to the pretty, swirling, sunset moment depicted on the cover.
On “Spacesick”, things slow down and allow you to drift. Mackenzie’s verses are a conversation to his family, as he uses a metaphor of space travel for his constant touring. Although the song is less strong in spots, a transcendent bridge sung by Joey Walker demonstrates that every track has essential and thrilling events. Walker sings “I see you/ Swaddled by the solidity of terrestrial fabric/ Entangled in its loam” as invigorating strings, woodwinds and psychedelic arrangements sweep through, allowing the listener to drift away into the orchestral cosmos. Brilliant!
“Aerodynamic” opens with a soulful verse by Ambrose Kenny-Smith, while harmonizing woodwinds bring a pinch of “Strawberry Fields”. Mackenzie’s verse is one of his best on the record, as he sings to “Miss Moon.” Rich strings add an entire new layer of “Eleanor Rigby” drama around 3 minutes in. Joey Walker delivers an Aussie-sea-cowboy verse, among an army of strings, that is a delightfully cartoonish example of the vivid world made on this record. “Aerodynamic” is incredibly accessible and smooth.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard by Maclay Heriot
“Sea of Doubt” is uptempo with Dire Straits-style guitar tones and string flourishes. It mixes the harmonized woodwinds of Paper Mache with a new-found sense of teary-eyed optimism. Ambrose’s verse rings with the emotional resonance of the album Bittersweet Demons by his band The Murlocs– “When you're trying to push uphill, the world tends to make you kneel.” Pardon my French, but damn, that is some profound shit to hear from “that Lizard Wizard band”. Mackenzie’s melancholy vibe is expanded on from “Lonely Cosmos” and “Sea of Doubt” is a great and surprisingly touching track.
“Silent Spirit” is a major star of Phantom Island with some of the best utilized orchestral arrangements. Bursts of retro 70’s brass make this song feel truly swanky. It’s brilliantly rich and loungey with jazzy guitars, muted trumpets and violins sweeping in elegantly. Mackenzie, Walker and Kenny-Smith deliver some of their most fun verses. Like “Lonely Cosmos”, this tune has some great spooky jams that showcase crunchy and exotic guitar leads against vivacious brass & strings. This dark jam looms over the track like a spectral presence. “Silent Spirit” is a standout that really emphasizes the Phantom title, both in sound and theme. This gem highlights the effortless creativity that places King Gizzard firmly in a league of their own above their contemporaries.
The closing track “Grow Wings and Fly” is a jovial firework; triumphant strings bursting with beauty soar as vocalists Stu, Joey and Ambrose deliver their most stoked verses of the record. The orchestra shines brightly as the band rides along with glorious optimism. This song has a melodic reference to Butterfly 3000’s “Shanghai” and its familiarity is exciting; it’s repurposed wonderfully among Gizzard’s signature, speedy and punchy kraut-beats. It's a truly uplifting send-off. The outro winds down in the utmost gentle and beautiful way, with instruments noodling like some orchestral Grateful Dead via Europe ‘72. The bookends on this album are just remarkable.
King Gizzard’s Phantom Island is an ever-shifting strip of enchanting symphonic-rock. It is also a breath of fresh air in their catalog– after all, they haven’t invested in delightful embellishments this much in a decade since Paper Mache Dream Balloon. Sure, there are some divisive things for Gizzard fans to debate: there’s slower tempos on average, and it's more mellow with less hooks due to the verse-heavy “pass the mic” format.
If you go into this album impatient to shake your hips or headbang, this lush record might go over your head entirely —the power is in the details and the fascinating fusion of sounds. While the opening of the record is explosive, Phantom Island is primarily the type of album that makes you sway back and forth with your eyes closed; it’s a highly immersive album and a world to truly get lost in. Those who are open to beautiful soundscapes and appreciate the larger symphonic picture of this record will likely be in heaven.
Phantom Island is a gorgeous and special album for King Gizzard that resides in the chipper corner of their catalog, alongside albums like Paper Mache Dream Balloon, Sketches of Brunswick East, Flight b741, Changes, Quarters! and Butterfly 3000. Notably though, Phantom Island’s grand orchestral-fusion makes it stand out significantly in the band's vast 27 album catalog. It’s probably their most beautifully embellished effort; it's incredibly rich in cinematic grandeur and atmosphere. The band also gracefully expands their world with a new sense of melancholy, maturity and poignant perspectives. King Gizzard’s output can be overwhelming to some, but when they put out brilliant gems like this, it is a reminder that their prolific process is extremely potent. Much like their live show, King Gizzard’s studio output often peaks with their most energetic and fuzz-fried music. But Phantom Island is a huge reminder that the band can also have a major creative peak when they slow down and smell the roses every once and while– just as they did in 2015 with the pretty Paper Mache Dream Balloon; or when they embraced the magical spirit of collaboration on Sketches of Brunswick East (with Mild High Club). By embracing the brilliant orchestral collaboration with Chad Kelly, they brought this material to the stars to secure another charming classic in their catalog.
King Gizzard is transcendent in their orchestral fusion on Phantom Island. It’s an incredibly rich addition to their discography that is very transportive – you should let it take you away, because Phantom Island is a majestic world to get lost in.
Occult Highlights: Phantom Island, Silent Spirit, Lonely Cosmos, Grow Wings and Fly, Deadstick, Panpsych
(…but we recommend you play it in full while watching a swirling sunset on the beach this summer…..)