This ain’t your Dad’s free U2 album, forcibly ingratiating itself through Apple upon an unsuspecting and, for the most part, unamused public. King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, Australia’s whimsical stalwarts of progressive psychedelia, are back with their 4th album of the year following the Flying Microtonal Banana, Murder Of The Universe and Sketches Of Brunswick East LPs and they are giving this one away for free.
According to the band’s website www.kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com “This album is FREE. Free as in, free. Free to download and if you wish, free to make copies. Make tapes, make CD’s, make records. Ever wanted to start your own record label? GO for it! Employ your mates, press wax, pack boxes. We do not own this record. You do. Go forth, share, enjoy”.
In posting the master tapes and artwork for Polygondwanaland online, their twelfth studio album in five years, the record will be entirely in the public domain, available to be produced and distributed by anyone who cares to. ATO Records, Blood Music and Greenway Records have already expressed interest in pressing the album in light of the fact that the band themselves will not be selling the record in any shape or form. Fans are also jumping at the opportunity to produce their own versions of the album through numerous crowdfunding campaigns springing up all over social media.
If it wasn’t clear before it most certainly is now, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard are perhaps the most interesting and noteworthy rock band in the world today, if not for their music for their sheer chutzpa, audacity, cleverness, chic cheek and sheer nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic. These 7 guys are single-handedly making rock ‘n’ roll fun again, fun and unexpected, as it should be.
The 10 track 44-minute song cycle that makes up Polygondwanaland is a smorgasbord of what King Gizzard does best, conceptual psychedelic whimsy mixed with a plethora of their latest obsessions, whether it be microtonal fusion, progressive polyphonics, spoken word or whatever else happens to grab their fancy. Particularly pleasing is the blend of acoustic (see Paper Mache Dream Balloon 2015) vs. electric (see Nonagon Infinity 2016) intentions of their past efforts merged together here as one to produce a warm wash of analogue synth rhythms, flute lines and acoustic guitar riffs against a backdrop of heavy technicolor prog rock. Curiouser and curiouser down the rabbit hole they go. Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?
Rating: 9/10