K.G. (subtitled Explorations into Microtonal Tuning, Volume 2) is the sixteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 20 November 2020 on their own label.[2] The album was preceded by four singles, the first three ("Honey",[3] "Some of Us"[4] and "Straws in the Wind"[5]) were released alongside music videos uploaded to YouTube. K.G. is a sonic "sequel" to Flying Microtonal Banana, which was subtitled "Explorations into Microtonal Tuning, Volume 1" and also a direct predecessor to L.W..[6]
K.G. | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 20 November 2020 | |||
Genre | Psychedelic rock[1] | |||
Length | 41:52 | |||
Label | KGLW | |||
Producer | Stu Mackenzie | |||
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard chronology | ||||
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Singles from K.G. | ||||
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"Automation", the fourth single preceding the album, was released for free on the band's website. In addition to the raw audio files for "Automation" as a whole, the band also includes the files for separate audio channels within the song such as vocals, violin, clarinet and flute, as well as video files for the music video, which the band encourages the fans to use to make their own remixes and music videos.[7] All of these files require a torrent client to be installed on the user's device. Since the release of "Automation", there have been many remixes and music videos edited by fans and posted on sites like Reddit and YouTube.[8] A number of these have been highlighted by the band in the King Gizzard newsletter "Gizzymail", namely in Gizzymail 6.[9]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 77/100[10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
Exclaim! | 7/10[12] |
NME | [13] |
Pitchfork | 8.0/10[14] |
Under the Radar | [15] |
Announced by the band on 21 October 2020.[2] Track durations taken from shop listing.[16] Vinyl releases have tracks 1–5 on Side A, and tracks 6–10 on Side B.[17]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "K.G.L.W." | Stu Mackenzie | 1:37 |
2. | "Automation" | Mackenzie | 3:30 |
3. | "Minimum Brain Size" | Joey Walker | 4:19 |
4. | "Straws in the Wind" |
| 5:42 |
5. | "Some of Us" |
| 3:53 |
6. | "Ontology" | Mackenzie | 3:58 |
7. | "Intrasport" | Walker | 4:13 |
8. | "Oddlife" |
| 4:58 |
9. | "Honey" | Mackenzie | 4:34 |
10. | "The Hungry Wolf of Fate" | Mackenzie | 5:08 |
Total length: | 41:52 |
Credits for K.G. adapted from liner notes.[18]
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Additional personnel
Production
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] | 9 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] | 76 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] | 11 |
UK Albums (OCC)[22] | 80 |
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[23] | 40 |