King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Butterfly 3000 (From the Vault)
hey folks, welcome to some discography reviews. i’ve been writing music reviews for some friends in a discord server for a few years now in various forms, but i figured i’d like to get them all in a more centralized space, so here we are! this first series of reviews is a review of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s discography, starting in 2011 with Willoughby’s Beach and running right into 2021 with Butterfly 3000. this review was originally written in September 2021.
finally, im looking at Butterfly 3000, release- RELEASED ON MY BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR –
this record had some extremely sweet, cheery, bright songs in it, and Yours is probably a perfect way to kick that off. the slow, optimistic progression through the first verse into that big shift for the second chorus was so sick, and i really liked the acoustic guitar bits in that space as well. as always, transitions on this record are top notch, and the synth is so delightful in Shanghai. this feels like a song to just disconnect and drift with. really liked Ambrose’s segments as well on this one. Dreams is a nice track but not outstanding to me. i did bolt up at the mention of the castle in the air on my first listen though, haha. Blue Morpho expands upon some subtler dark tones flowing under the surface in Dreams and builds them into this drawn out track with some great flow. love when that first lyrical segment falls away into the bridge. man the next bit is my fave part of the album. Interior People is the first track that really hooked me and spoke to me. really love the strings in this one, and the rhythm is just so catchy. plus, Interior People into Chasing Smoke is such a great pair. i’d heard a little of, and a little about, Chasing Smoke before this, and it was nice to spend a little quality time with it. a lot of this record seems to focus on reflecting on moments that folks are normally busy experiencing in the moment – they talk about feeling like you’re in a dream and experiencing that from another angle, whether that be a good experience traveling, getting high, or, as the ending of the record focuses on, fatherhood, to an extent. anyway, i dig Chasing Smoke as a sort of lynchpin to that throughline – it’s the longest track on the album, and the tracks seem to build up to it and then step down from it. great track. many of the other tracks deal with like, hidden downsides or subtle dangers, but 2.02 Killer Year is uh, not subtle. this one feels a little out of place thematically but musically its quite nice. i like Black Hot Soup as the “finale” with the last two tracks as kind of an extended outro, lol. its very nice to hear it shift and change and develop into that outro. Ya Love is so beautiful and sweet, its such a nice track, and obv Butterfly 3000 is a great send-off and closing thoughts. that being said, this closing wing (heh) of the album isn’t quite as engaging or appealing to me as the middle bits.
faves – Shanghai, Interior People, Chasing Smoke
dislikes –
this record was incredibly soft, sweet and thoughtful. i loved them playing in this space with the synths – i had listened to the soundtrack for their concert DVD, Chunky Shrapnel, and i wasn’t super impressed with the transitory tracks, but its nice to see them pay off in such interesting ways here. i also really liked the thematic play here, with the butterfly making appearances throughout. a nice metaphor for transitory, ephemeral, and beautiful things.
Butterfly 3000 – 6/10
and that brings us to current day folks! thanks for checking out the start of these discog reviews with me! if i had finished this two weeks ago, i would’ve just had y’all sit tight – as it stands though, there’s actually a lot of movement in the KGLW scene! i’m linking below to a page for Made In Timeland – that will stay empty until i can get my hands on a physical disc for it, as it’s currently vinyl only, we’re due to hear about a release date for KGLW’s 20th record, Omnium Gatherum, in a little under a week, and it looks like they have a collab EP with Tropical Fuck Storm that came out Monday
in the mean time, i’ve got a few more older ones to get archived here on the site but i’m trying to mix in some current reviews too.
support the band by buying this record on Bandcamp
first: Willoughby’s Beach | previous: L.W. | temporarily next: Satanic Slumber Party (skipped Made In Timeland)
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