PHANTOM ISLAND

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Psychedelic/Space Rock

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

The story picks up where Flight b741 left off, because Phantom Island is nothing less than its sequel. From the cover art, where the flight with the eight little pigs collided, an orchestra of lizards and fish greets them with strings and wind instruments. As Stu Mackenzie and Ambrose Kenny-Smith themselves explained, the songs on Flight b741 were more "outrageous," while those on Phantom Island were more "laid-back." However, they are more compositionally ambitious, once again entering the microtonal world, where multiple notes are used per octave. However, KWLG manages to make one listen and enjoy the music as a festive breath of fresh air, a characteristic they haven't lost since their beginnings.

The inclusion of the orchestra, along with their cocktail of psychedelia, at times recalls the band Love, but there are also progressive, funk, krautrock, and space rock. The title track introduces us to the mood, accelerating toward the end, with a very appropriate coda, which leads seamlessly into the next track, as it gives the impression of listening to an entire recording session without a break, without giving a moment to breathe.

Both Lonely Cosmos and Silent Spirit have flamenco reminiscences; Panpsych, Spacesick, and Aerodynamic reach soaring peaks of deliberately chopped rhythms, woven together in a way that makes you want to see them play them live on the 2025 tour!

Ambrose Kenny-Smith's solo album, In Times, had already foreshadowed the wonderful period they were entering with a fusion of synth-pop, blues, glam rock, and psychedelia that was as Australian as it was thrilling. As usual, KWLG, with their multiple songwriting minds, accustoms us to expecting the unexpected; as King Crimson's Robert Fripp said, it's always the same, always different.

Report this review (#3187107)
Posted Friday, May 16, 2025 | Review Permalink

arcane-beautiful

Phantom Island by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is a great rootsy psychedelic rock and pop album with symphonic textures and proggy arrangements. Very much a follow up to their previous album Flight b741, it takes the rootsiness of that album and fleshes it out with fantastic musical and vocal arrangements. Alot of fun but not as catchy as their earlier material, but easily still proves that these Australians are one of the most interesting bands going today, able to tackle any style while being overly sincere. I'd give this a mid 7 out of 10. Best song: Grow Wings & Fly

Report this review (#3196779)
Posted Friday, June 20, 2025 | Review Permalink

BBKron

You never know what will be next from this dynamic chameleon band who seem to just look at different genres and say, 'Yeah, we can do that'. This albums finds them building on some song structures similar to last year's Flight b741, with some breezy, upbeat psych rock with mixtures of blues, jazz, and folk-rock, but the twist with this album is that they have added orchestration, so plenty of strings, winds, and horns here to give a fuller, lusher sound, as this is basically their orchestral album. But the songs still have a light, spacey charm, with some infectious grooves and melodies, lifted to additional textures and sounds with the added orchestration. At times sounds a bit like a hipper, brighter, catchier, drug-free Grateful Dead, with orchestration. Overall, a fun album with engaging songs and styles and rich textures. Best Tracks: Deadstick, Eternal Return, Panpsych, Spacesick, Sea of Doubt, Grow Wings and Fly. Rating: 3.5

Report this review (#3199868)
Posted Wednesday, July 2, 2025 | Review Permalink

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