When someone said that KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD had a new album out, my first impression was, “I know, someone in my house has been playing it for several months now.” You can imagine my surprise then, when I realized they were not, in fact, talking about the absurdly titled “PetroDraconic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation” (whew, what a mouthful – try and remember that title on a bad day), which was released on June 16th, 2023, but rather, “The Silver Cord,” which came out on October 27th, 2023. Indeed, it seems these experimental rock maniacs have a habit of releasing a new album every 6 months or less, making this release their twenty-fifth studio album, despite only having been around since 2012. As they were a new discovery for me this year, it seemed worth my while to delve into their unique brand of madness!
These guys are pretty new to me, so with so many studio albums already under their belt, it was hard to have any expectations, despite having listened to “PetroDraconic Apocalypse” multiple times. Indeed, “The Silver Cord” is quite different from its 4-month predecessor, as the tracks on “The Silver Cord” are quite short, generally clocking in in the 3-5 minute range; however, there is an extended mix of every song on the album’s second disc, which ups the song lengths to the 10-20 minute range.
Musically, this album is very synth-driven, with highly modulated vocal contributions, electronic drums and drum modulators, and guitar synthesizers, making for a very digitized and synth-led resulting sound. Certainly, this is quite different from the previous release, which did have guitars, bass, and drums.
“Theia” starts things off on a rather psychedelic progressive note, gentle and synth-driven as it builds up. The title track to “The Silver Cord” runs at 4:20 in length (intentionally? Hmm…) and is very laid-back and groove-out in style, while “Set” picks things up and gets a little funky and weird. I’m a well-known fan of strange details in electronic music, so this immediately intrigued me, despite being surprisingly danceable for a prog band, especially taking the rapping part into consideration! Then, “Chang’e” feels like a full-on synth-pop dance track, while “Gilgamesh” returns to a trippier soundscape, more eerie and mysterious in its overall vibe. “Swan Song” has a poppier, more dancable feel, with fairly high energy that builds up tensely, while the final track, “Extinction,” has a more technical, digital feel to it. And that’s without delving into the madness that is the extended second disc of the album!
I feel like I’d be loathe to call “The Silver Cord” progressive rock, but rather, art-prog or synth-prog seem like more fitting terms, just per what’s on delivery here. I can’t compare to KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD‘s overall discography, as I’ve only heard the other 2023 release from these guys, but it certainly sets a rather fascinating precedent for them artistically. I don’t mind keeping an eye and ear on them at all, just to see what they do next!
Written by Bear Wiseman
Tracklist
- Theia
- The Silver Cord
- Set
- Chang’e
- Gilgamesh
- Swan Song
- Extinction
Lineup
Ambrose Kenny-Smith – vocals, synths
Michael Cavanagh – electronic drums
Cook Craig – synths, effects
Joey Walker – vocals, loops, sequencers, drum machine, modular synths
Lucas Harwood – synths
Stu Mackenzie – vocals, synths, guitar synths, Ableton Push 2, Mellotron, drum machine, piano, effects
Label
KGLW
