New King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: Phantom Island

If you are bummed out that Edgar Winter, Thin Lizzy, Tower of Power, Chicago, Traffic, and Wings stopped making records, I have just the salve to soothe your aching soul.

Phantom Island, the new release from Melbourne's King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, ticks all the boxes on the 1970 AOR rock radio playlist checklist, and does it in their own voice and with style. Horns, flutes, strings, fuzzed out electric guitars, vocal harmonies, and mystical lyrics all play a grand role in the band's twenty-seventh (!!!) release. Recorded at roughly the same time as their 2024 release, Flight b741, Phantom Island's collection of songs are the more mellow and laid back companion to the rowdier Flight b741.

The band keeps proving over and over again that genre construct does not apply, and it is this very point that keeps me coming back for more. Their live shows are a journey through metal, kraut rock, electronic dance music, Turkish psych-rock, '70s inspired jam band jams, boogie-rock, and more.

Phantom Island was produced and mixed by KGLW frontman Stu Mackenzie [Tape Op #149], recorded by Sam Joseph, orchestral recordings by Lachlan Carrick and Ross Cockle, and mastered by Joe Carra.