King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana

The Guardian 60

(Heavenly)

The first of five albums the Melbourne outfit are set to release in 2017 (frontman Stu Mackenzie is “no good at chilling”), Flying Microtonal Banana contains nine tracks of chugging psychedelic garage interspersed with classic riffage, including the kind of 60s melodies that sound almost Tudor. King Gizzard have always been prolific – they’ve averaged two albums a year since their 2010 inception – but that’s not to say their dense and complex work isn’t painstakingly crafted.

The “microtonal” of the title refers to the group’s customised guitars, which have added frets that double the amount of playable notes. The challenge was apparently in translating this new dimension of sound into something that sounded relatively normal, but they seem to have achieved their goal: Flying Microtonal Banana is occasionally pleasant but mostly pedestrian. If anything, it’s a step back from the experimentation of last year’s fierce Nonagon Infinity. Starting with their moniker, King Gizzard are a band that promise more wackiness than they can deliver.