If the guys in King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — who are current Exclaim! Magazine cover stars — weren't already prolific enough, they somehow have even more creative energy to pour into side projects. The band's Cook Craig, who also plays in offshoot the Murlocs, has now announced his fifth solo album as Pipe-eye, led by new single "Lords of Lithium."
His first solo LP since 2021's Dream Themes, Pipe-defy arrives October 18 via p(doom) records, with contributions from fellow band members Joe Walker (mixing, production) and Micheal Cavanagh (drums). Press notes describe it as a stylistic departure from Craig's previous records, influenced heavily by funk and synth-driven dance songs from the '70s and '80s.
"At around the time that I was starting to write songs for the album, my mum gave me a bunch of old CDs from my early teens that I hadn't listened to in ages," the artist explained in a release. "There was heaps of Grandmaster Flash, Herbie Hancock, Zapp, Stevie Wonder and other stuff like that. When I kept writing songs they kinda just started sounding like that… so I guess it kinda just kickstarted an old obsession I had for that style of music."
This is all made entirely evident on our first taste of the album, "Lords of Lithium." Listen to it below, where you can also find the tracklist details.
Pipe-defy:
1. Catch Me on a Break
2. Snake on a Sand Dune
3. Lords of Lithium
4. I'm Coming Back
5. Travertine
6. Best Party Ever II
7. The Taste
8. Fortune Cookie
9. We're in This Together
10. Innuendo
11. Don't Fade Away