SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD – THE SILVER CORD

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD
THE SILVER CORD
KGLW

The best way to describe King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is to compare them to that person who says they listen to all kinds of music. It is pretty hard to find a genre or style that the band has yet to tackle. Each album, they reinvent their sound and start from scratch. Their latest seven-track release, The Silver Cord, is no different as their previous record was a very guitar-heavy thrash metal album, wherein The Silver Cord goes completely electronic. The Silver Cord also has two versions. The shorter one is just under 30 minutes; the extended mix, which die-hard fans of the band will love, is nearly 90 minutes long.

“Theia” is one of the dreamiest songs of the year. The futuristic, cyber-punk and spacey synths are incredibly melodic, and the vocals, particularly the word “Theia”, sound so majestic. After you finish listening to the track, the word Theia will be stuck inside your mind. At over 20 minutes long, the extended mix has moments of brilliance but goes on far too long.

“The Silver Cord” manages to be surreal, absurd, and weird but also quite beautiful. Mysterious and eerie synths open up the song, and heavily distorted vocals quickly join in. It is pretty creepy, but the second half is breathtakingly haunting and probably the best thing of the entire album. The extended mix of the song is one of the best. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard experiment with various sounds, making it even more of a fever dream. The highlight is the super trippy combination of trip-hop and jazz fusion.

“Set” is a bit of a step down from the previous two tracks. It does have some awesome beats, but it will probably not intrigue you as much as the first two tracks. The peak is once the rapping starts. It comes out of nowhere, and even though the rapping is not necessarily good, it still rocks.

“Chang’e” is by far the weakest on  the record. Some creative decisions with the instrumentation make the song somewhat interesting, but almost every other track on the record does similar things better. Of the seven tracks, it is the only forgettable track. However, the extended mix significantly improves the track, but not enough to make you want to sit through the entire ten minutes of the song.

“Gilgamesh” is a badass song. Amazing throat singing, psychedelic, techno, and dark instrumentation, wild rapping, chaotic energy and an occasional sinister atmosphere make it an absolute joy. The extended mix slows down things too much, and the track loses its frantic mayhem.

“Swan Song” features even more throat singing, and the beats are so damn good. The extended mix goes even more hardcore, especially the instrumentation, as it becomes a full-on jam consisting of jazz, dance, techno, dubstep, and disco.

Lastly, “Extinction” has some of the catchiest lyrics from the record, but the instrumentation is the weakest. It is quite an average song and underwhelming.

The Silver Cord demonstrates the ambition, creativity and skill set of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is “second to none.”

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