IN REVIEW: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - "Changes"

 

At this point, I don't think there's any doubt as to who the hardest working band in the world is; just over ten years removed from the release of their debut album, Changes marks the fifth this year for King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and mind-blowing 23rd overall. Averaging more than two albums a year is unfathomable for most bands, let alone doing so with as few missteps as KGLW have had; while a handful of their records are admittedly weaker in ambition and/or execution, the majority of the Aussie collective's output has been more or less on point, even as they tirelessly juggle musical styles and compositional stunts. Just this year, they've released not one but two albums centered around the rhythm of a ticking clock (Made in Timeland and Laminated Denim, which combine its four 15-minute tracks for exactly an hour of jammy goodness), a part catch-all of unreleased songs from recent projects augmented with their first post-Covid recordings (double album Omnium Gatherum), and an incredible prog-rock record that sprang from the members improvising and experimenting with different tempos and key signatures while operating within music's Greek modes (Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava, for my money the best of this year's batch).

Within this dizzying context, their final release of 2022 is the most simplified and straightforward record by the band in some time (it's actually claimed that this was supposed to be the fifth and final record released on their first five-albums-in-one-year run way back in 2017, and has been workshopped on and off since); Changes is also relatively compact at seven songs and 40 minutes, while featuring some of the most conventional songs they've penned in recent memory. Things don't start off that way, however; the staggering Change opens the record and undergoes several shifts in style, tempo and tone over the course of its 13 minutes, while staying rooted in the overall vibe of the record, which incorporates and approximates the classic R&B of the '70s.

This influence from the Stevie Wonders of the world is felt most explicitly on the snappy single Hate Dancin', which sees the song's protagonist give in to the urge to move as the song progresses; it's as simple and direct as KGLW have sounded in a minute, and it's really kind of refreshing to hear them dish out such an effective slice of groove-laden pop in just over three minutes. The funky rhythms carry over on the 7+ minute Astroturf, which takes its time in unfolding its grooves but feels completely natural in its progression, a testament to the work that's been put into it. 

The album's home stretch gets back to a more simple and direct approach, with none of the remaining four tracks making it to the five minute mark. This means that, in less time than it takes to listen to the jammy, chameleonic The Dripping Tap from earlier this year, we get the laid back and sweaty slow jam No Body, the synth-led and pulsating bop Gondii, the hushed and pensive Exploding Suns and the somewhat goofy opening track reprisal Short Change; these four songs lessen the overall impact of the record somewhat, as they rarely evoke the same spirit heard on the first half even if the songs are well-written and performed (aside from Short Change, which sounds a bit tossed off and unnecessary). 

Changes doesn't set a new standard for KGLW by any means, nor does it feel like a triumphant conclusion to another busy year for the group; that said, it wasn't intended to be the culmination of anything aside from the extra dedication they put into this project itself, and I'll commend them for that. At the end of the day, Changes is just another in the long line of winsome records that litter their discography, the kind of good-to-great sonic excursion that KGLW seems able to crank out at will, whether it takes five years to create or five hours. 

October 28, 2022 • KGLW

Highlights Change • Hate Dancin' • No Body