King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are infamous for their ridiculously prolific output, so it's kind of strange that it's been eight whole months since the release of Flight b741, for which they appeared on the cover of Exclaim! last year. They've been teasing a follow-up called Phantom Island for some time now, and have finally provided some more details about their 27th record.
UPDATE (4/15, 9:14 a.m. ET): As promised, Phantom Island — set for release on June 13 — is now available for pre-order. Likewise, the band have shared the bold and brassy "Deadstick" alongside a Guy Tyzack-directed music video.
Press materials indicate that the roots of the album can be traced back to the King Gizz show at the Hollywood Bowl on June 23, where the band met some members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic backstage who encouraged them to consider participating in an annual series where the orchestra performs with pop and rock acts. Then, when the 2024 sessions for Flight b741 yielded 10 extra songs that "needed a little more time and space and thought," as per Stu Mackenzie, the group — inspired by the L.A. Philharmonic — reached out to British keyboardist, conductor and arranger Chad Kelly.
"He brings this wealth of musical awareness to his chameleon-like arrangements," Mackenzie said of Kelly. "We come from such different worlds — he plays Mozart and Bach and uses the same harpsichords they did, and tunes them the exact same way. But he's obsessed with microtonal music too, and all this nerdy stuff like me."
Okay, so an actual release date is still missing in action here, but on April 15, a pre-order for the album will go live via p(doom) records, so that's something! That date will also see the release of a music video for album track "Deadstick," as well as a Reddit AMA.
In an Instagram post, the band's Stu Mackenzie explained that the orchestral LP has been two years in the making. "A lot of love and time and energy and patience and growth went into this one," he wrote. "Can't wait to grow wings and fly with all of you."
King Gizz released the Phantom Island title track a few months back. Revisit that below, where you can also find the album tracklist details.
Phantom Island:
1. Phantom Island
2. Deadstick
3. Lonely Cosmos
4. Eternal Return
5. Panpsych
6. Spacesick
7. Aerodynamic
8. Sea of Doubt
9. Silent Spirit
10. Grow Wings and Fly
