King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Flying Microtonal Banana (Heavenly)

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King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard have the dual honour of being both the best named and most prolific band in music. Their first release of an insane five LPs planned for 2017, Flying Microtonal Banana is a groove-laden psychedelic expedition to push their driving rhythms into microtonal tuning and beyond.

King Gizzard have never been afraid to leap into projects with a clear goal in mind: from Quarters’ four 10:10 length tracks, to the completely acoustic Paper Mache Dream Balloon, they’re a band that thrives on taking a concept and pushing it to the limits. The creative juices are clearly flowing here on FMB too, as despite the limits of playing microtonally, there’s a breadth of styles throughout.

Tracks such as the noir-tinged Melting and the spaghetti western Billabong Valley are standout examples of the rewards of being willing to experiment artistically, with Billabong Valley’s rare inclusion of guest vocals a refreshing change halfway through what can be a drone-heavy record.

That’s not to say the droning songs are anything but totally engaging. Opener Rattlesnake is a 7 minute attempt at drilling catchy hooks as deep into your brain as they can possibly go, and the eerily propulsive Open Water is an album highlight, shifting through phrases and moods all the while keeping the intensity with a twin drum attack. Even on the shorter cuts this is a running theme of the record: songs frequently morph and change with more gradual shifts rather than the usual verse/chorus/verse structure, which combined with the consistency of microtonal tuning gives the record noticeable ebb and flow. The track listing for this reason feels very deliberate, shuffle is a button not to be used!

There was noticeable excitement within the King Gizzard fan community as FMB was released due to official confirmation by the band of a long held fan theory that there is a running theme between records (“Gizzverse”). Given previous releases contained prominent themes concerning post-apocalypse landscapes and mind control (I’m In Your Mind Fuzz and Nonagon Infinity), lines such as “toxic air is here to scare us… the Earth is melting down” – Melting, “Open water, where’s the shore gone?” – Open Water, and Rattlesnake’s talk of isolation and trepidation all tie into this slowly emerging vision of paranoia and fear in an apocalyptic world. Other tracks such as Nuclear Fusion and Doom City also lean on these concepts heavily, making Flying Microtonal Banana the most engaging expansion of the Gizzverse to date.

It’s worth noting that as a microtonal album there’s a slightly moody and off-kilter vibe throughout, and given the planning KGATLW have put into creating these themes so far, it seems no coincidence that they’ve chosen the eerie microtonal tuning as the leap-off point to go from snippets of intertwined songs into fully fledged concept exploration.

However, this may be the flaw in FMB, having chosen to be limited by microtonal tuning at the same time as taking the leap into a lyrically themed record it can feel like there is lack of variety on offer. Some tracks might be long, some are short, and yes the pace does vary and shift as songs shimmer beautifully in and out, but at the core every song always explores the same themes in the same key. King Gizz may be masters of thriving on limitation, but at times there’s a need for something just slightly more out of the mould to provide a break from the relentless microtonal psychedelia and doom.

Despite this, Flying Microtonal Banana is an enthralling listen overall. It feels more expansive than Nonagon Infinity’s 100mph claustrophobia, and more lyrically engaging than any of The Gizz’s previous efforts. Releasing a microtonal concept album would be a huge risk for nearly any other band, but here if anything it feels like a first step to bigger and greater things! If you’re not on board the Gizz train, FMB is a perfect place to hop on. But be quick, because with a second microtonal album, a follow-up to Nonagon Infinity, and a doom/space/fully narrated prog opera (the superbly titled Murder Of The Universe) to come, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard’s creative juices show no signs of slowing down.

Zac Fairhall

The 13th Floor
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