Butterfly 3000 - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Review
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
are an extremely prolific Australian psych rock band who have released 18 albums in less than a decade of existence as a band. This is their 2nd album of 2021 and comes off the heels of a two part series of psychedelic desert rock music on last years K.G. and this years L.W. Butterfly 3000 is poised to break this sonic trend as the band promised a shift in sound before dropping the album with no singles.
Review By Lav:
It wasn't that long ago that you could count on King Gizz for an exciting new concept and consistent output of good tunes at least twice a year. While 2019's Fishing For Fishes was as big a miss as the band has ever had I was more than thrilled to see them make up for it with the thrash metal Infest The Rats Nest later that year. Unfortunately the bands last two records have been two of their weakest to date. Sonically they work as follow-ups to another one of my least favorite Gizz albums Flying Microtonal Banana but are even more uninspired by comparison. In my last review I begged for the band to undergo some kind of change of pace and they have delivered on exactly that. Butterfly 3000 hints at some of the winding desert influences but makes much more use of the psych pop sounds of midi and synths to make these cyclical tracks work. Unfortunately the record is extremely streaky and when you're in some of the tougher portions that very quality that can make it work can also make it incredibly tedious.
Opening track Yours is a good start to the album and signifies the change of pace that the band is clearly aiming for from previous records with a dreamy synth line and obscured lead vocals. The track features a prominent bassline and some versatile exciting drumming that gives it punchiness. While all the refrains do sort of blend together I like the instrumental bridges quite a bit and they keep the song fresh throughout. Dreams is also a decent track but it employs a bit of a strange compositional approach that makes it move really slowly. The refrain is sort of catchy and has a kooky demeanor that I find charming even though I wouldn't call it a highlight.
Unfortunately these tracks and the excellent streak that follows are interrupted by Shanghi which gets off to an okay start but I'll be the first person to admit that the falsetto vocals are extremely annoying. Not only that but the midi sounds are super high up in the mix and occasionally the only thing that can be made out clearly. I understand some of the appeal of abstraction but this song doesn't do it well on top of not being that strong during its core phase in the first place.
The next trio of tracks make up the middle of the record and I think they are easily the three best songs it has to offer. Blue Morpho comes first with an eerie synth line that makes it crawl sonically compared to most Gizz tracks. Surprisingly enough I think it thrives in that environment with the space vocals helping the whole mix pull off its eerie vibe well. This makes it all the more satisfying when the full instrumental kicks off and the song suddenly turns kind of dancy and a lot more catchy in the 2nd half. Interior People is even better and one of the most instrumentally fleshed out tracks here with both synthetic and acoustic instrumentation that come together really well. The song flirts with some of the desert sounds of the previous few records but it never gets that boring. In fact the song is quite instrumentally exciting as it continues to build on its core concept with the bridge and hook. It has one of the catchiest hooks here and the 5 minutes of its runtime breezes by. Finally there's Catching Smoke is once again even better with a tight groove and slapping in its mix that are exciting and fun. It also features one really infectious refrain after another throughout. I love that the track has so much to offer compositionally transitioning between different concepts but never losing its sense of momentum. For being the longest song here it is definitely the most satisfying.
2.02 Killer Year breaks this trend but it isn't terrible. It once again makes some very prominent use of off kilter synths that dominate the mix. I definitely wish I could hear the vocals more clearly even though I'm not sure they would even support the songs weirder qualities if I could hear them clearly. That is at least until the group vocals come in on the back half and add a lot of fun to the song. The closing track Butterfly 3000 feels like an interlude or outro more than an actual song which I guess is fine. It's a weird closer that feels kind of aimless until the last 45 seconds of so where it has an electronic breakdown that takes the record to a glitchy rattling conclusion I really enjoy. Honestly I think that's the only part of the track that was even necessary but I'm at least glad the record gets to end off on it.
Black Hot Soup is my least favorite of the records 5+ minute tracks just because I feel like I couldn't even pick it out of a line-up of songs here. With similar drum fills, refrains and nearly identical vocals it feels like pastiche of the records sound more than an actual song. It wouldn't be that bad if it was short but at this length it starts dragging on before its even halfway done. Ya Love honestly gets off to a good start with its bright punchy instrumental but jesus christ is the "ya love" repeating on the hook absolutely incessant. I can't stand the sound of it and its really a shame because the back half of the song features some of the records hardest rocking moments but getting there can feel torturous.
Butterfly 3000 is what I asked for at the end of my last review. The band has switched up their style and returned to something with a strong instrumental concept that is both distinct in their discography and in the broader world of modern psych as a whole. So generally speaking my complaints about the record come paired with the fact that I think its better and more exciting than the bands last two albums in nearly every way. The back half of the record is wildly underwritten compared to its midsection and even some of the moderate highlights in the first half. This makes the record a bit more of a tedious listen than your average inconsistent project but it also means that when it's hitting its stride there is one highlight after another. Inconsistencies aside the bands continued commitment to unique concepts has gotten me once again excited for what they may do in the future, which given their history likely isn't too far away. 6/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
This cover is very busy but I love the patterns made and all the hidden details. It has a lot of personality and even though it isn't well made to be viewed on small devices, I think it would look awesome on a record sleeve. It doesn't have any text so the branding of the artist is going to be recognizable only through the people who know this cover art specifically and that can be a double edged sword. The colors are bright but all have the same vibrancy so it's easy on the eyes and I think you'd have a good time just studying this cover. 8/10
For more Gizz check out my review of K.G. here and L.W. here or for a better record, Infest The Rats Nest here
