Genre-defying King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard brings plenty of new music to Las Vegas

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard isn’t just a band. It’s a shape-shifting beast that devours genres for breakfast and spits out sounds you didn’t even know you needed.

Psychedelic rock, thrash metal, jazz, electronica, prog, folk, synth-pop and more; nothing is sacred and everything is up for grabs for this Melbourne-based sextet. We’re talking 26 studio albums and counting, 39 live recordings, stacks of singles and enough music videos to keep you glued to your screen for days. And it’s all been done over the course of just 14 years.

The latest record, Flight b741, was released in August right in the middle of a 44-date world tour. Its sound is heavily influenced by no-frills Southern rock n’ roll bands from the late ’60s and early ’70s—pedal steel, harmonicas, bluesy twang and all.

“We had a rule for this album—if it took longer than two hours to be satisfied with a take for a song then the song was too complicated for this project,” says bassist Lucas Harwood. “While the ideas are fresh and flowing … someone would bring in ideas to the table, write the chords down and we would all learn it on the spot and go for it.”

The initial tracking sessions for the album lasted two weeks before the band separated to work on individual parts or in smaller groups before regrouping for the over-dubbing process, which took a few months to complete. Given the holistic, collaborative nature of the band, anyone has the ability to fully pitch a song idea. The title track was Harwood’s time to shine, as he took the lead on the song’s composition, piano and vocals.

“It was a big thing for me … I don’t write as many songs as the other guys and I feel the things I write don’t usually fit in the Gizzard canon, but I had this one that just felt right,” he says.

Harwood, who also plays in the psych-pop rock band Heavy Moss, calls back to his childhood and his early exposure to folk music, which undoubtedly gave him the perfect backing to bring “Flight b741” to life. He nods to Elton John when it comes to the song’s piano style, and says that his bandmates gave him a helping hand with wrapping up the arrangements.

“It was the perfect environment for me where I had this idea, it’s not fully formed and when I brought it to the table with the guys, everyone just collaborates,” he explains. “Which is really cool because it probably still wouldn’t be a finished song.”

The listener is met with a fuzzy opening riff, a wailing harmonica and a chorus of vocals. And although getting on the mic was a bit of a learning curve for Harwood, his tone is rich and fits perfectly with his bandmates. The song encapsulates the feeling of a weekend road trip with your buds.

Just as the dust began to settle, King Gizzard kicked it up again. Only two months after releasing Flight b741, they’re already cooking up another record—and, of course, exploring another genre. Their latest teaser, the melodic and orchestral single “Phantom Island,” offers a taste of what’s to come. And they’re set to take this sound on a special nine-show run backed by a 28-piece orchestra next summer.

But before embarking on that orchestral escapade, they’re finishing up their current world tour, with a stop in Vegas on November 9—a familiar city for King Gizzard.

“I don’t mean this negatively at all: It is a huge novelty,” says Harwood. “It’s really crazy and fun and we’re usually just playing some blackjack after the show. I reckon the last time we did it, we took over a whole table too.”

For photos and more details visit LasVegasWeekly.com