Meet Angus. He works at triple j - yet he’s never listened to a whole album by Melbourne psych-fuzz-metal-jazz-garage freaks King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

Counting only studio albums, that’s a full 15 he’s missed.

But with a new live album and concert movie out this month, has there ever been a better time for Gus to catch up? We didn’t think so - and surprisingly, neither did he when we pitched the idea to him.

“Look, I’m not leaving the house. I have no excuses,” says Angus. “We’re all doing crazy stuff in isolation - learning to bake bread, cut hair, it’s time to read that book or watch that movie you said you would.”

We quickly set some ground rules (before he changed his mind): all 15 studio LPs, non-stop in one sitting, in one day. Oh, and an EP for good measure. For the record: that’s over 10 hours of pure King Gizz.

Will he become a certified Gizzhead through a trial of attrition? Or will the Lizard Wizard’s magic fail to rub off on him as he slowly gets lost in their mind fuzz? Join him, and us, as we explore the furthest reaches of the Gizzverse - and maybe even Angus’ sanity *spooky riffing intensifies*

Skip YouTube Video FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.

The set-up

The idea of a one-man, single-day marathon through King Gizzard’s imposing discography began as a lighthearted office joke between Angus and your author, triple j Music News producer and certified Gizzhead, Al Newstead.

“Each album it got funnier, to the point of absurdity,” Angus explains. “Like, the more you repeat a joke, the worse it gets... then it gets funny again. I think when they released five albums in a year it was like ‘Alright, this is now a borderline parody’. Like ‘How many albums now? Nine? No, actually it’s 12!’ The truth was funnier than the joke.”

Angus has a passing awareness of the band’s bonkers, fun-loving riff-rock and wild aesthetic. “I’ve noticed a lot of music nerds vibe what they do [but] I couldn’t win at King Gizzard Trivial Pursuit.. I’d probably get outed as a cop if I showed up to Gizzfest.”

“I just never got into them. It’s not like I was against them or thought that they were bad, but it was daunting to get in on it and catch up when there’s such a beloved fanbase and feverish release schedule. It can kind of turn you off, like ‘That’s ok, that exists, I don’t need to get into that right now’.”

At this point - staring down the barrel of a punishing endurance test - it seemed like the enormity of the task was beginning to dawn on Angus.

“I don’t think even King Gizzard has done this before, so maybe I’ll be like an honorary member by the end of it. It could also make me never want to listen to music again…”

5 hours 18 minutes in...

Share Facebook

Twitter

Mail

Whatsapp All of the albums Angus has listened to so far





Halfway into the King Gizzography, Angus says he’s starting to feel a little batty. “I’m getting very familiar with the individual dust particles on my coffee table.”

Even Gussy’s housemates are beginning to lose it. “I was trying to get my cat involved because I was getting lonely, and she scratched me and ran away.”

He’s hearing the artistic journey but “the distinct lines between records and phases are starting to blur and it doesn’t help that they’re so prolific.”

“I’m not in here with them, they’re in here with me…”

But despite the hardships, Angus is sticking to the mission. “There are some times when my finger is reaching for the skip track but then I’m like ‘No! I need to listen to every single song on every single album in order!”

Here’s what he’s picked up so far:

“They’re not afraid to get silly”

I think that’s part of their charm that I’m warming up to because I don’t think music should be wholly serious. Like listening to ‘Footy, Footy’, I was thinking ‘I’m not into this but then maybe if I was an ex-pat listening overseas I might smile’. I dunno, maybe it’s a Melbourne thing.

“I couldn’t tell there’s seven people in the band.”

Sucks they have to split the money more than other bands, but yeah, at this point I’m not hearing it. Maybe a little more harmonica than I expected.

“They’ve got a strong aesthetic”

The cover art gets better, I’m noticing. It’s always pretty consistent but it’s starting to look a little more evil, satanic and ghoulish. I’m curious to see what that means, I’m interested to see what bursts the Paper Mâché Dream Balloon.

I have no idea what to expect next. It could be a dance album! I’ve learned to not know what might happen, which I think might be a theme.

The finish line

Share Facebook

Twitter

Mail

Whatsapp





After conquering the final seven albums, Angus confesses “there were moments where my own physical endurance and mental attention were waning. I’ve spent 13 hours with these guys, I haven’t even spent 13 hours with a lot of relatives in the last decade…”

He admits that an element of Stockholm Syndrome crept in during the final stretch. “Things that maybe weren’t that good, I was finding extremely good. There were parts where I was like ‘Oh my god, this is the best piece of music ever made’ and it’d just be a riff that repeats.”

Highlights

Float Along Fill Your Lungs was a super-duper experience. I really dug that, I could hear the leap and progression. It sounds like somebody bought a sitar and was like ‘let’s get this in the studio ASAP’.I was surprisingly really into [the 15-min] ‘Head On/Pill’. Not at one point was I like ‘damn, I wish this song was over’.

I’m all in on Nonagon Infinity, it’s head and shoulders my favourite thus far. I even knew some of the songs quite well, like ‘Gamma Knife’ and ‘People-Vultures’. ‘Robot Stop’ was awesome.

Skip YouTube Video FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.

It got a little hairy around Quarters and Paper Mâché Dream Balloon, then *boom* Nonagon comes on, and it's sick! It really perked me up. Like, this is what I think about when I think about King Gizz. Lots of repetitive riffs, an ouroboros just going around. It finally reached what I think of when I think of them, from my outsider perspective.

I really liked Flying Microtonal Banana. And Fishing For Fishies - a record I famously don’t like saying out loud or even reading - that ended up being in the top three albums for me. That was sick.

Before I went in I was like ‘I’ve spent enough time with these guys but I still don’t know if they’re the type to say 'boogie oogie oogie' and sure enough! That’s all I wanted out of the boogie album, that rhyming couplet, and I got it.

Skip YouTube Video FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.

Infest the Rat’s Nest really fucking took it there. It reminds me of Year 7 woodwork and our teacher would always play Metallica on a cassette tape. What if Metallica were environmentalists? And that’s this album. I wish it came earlier because I was getting physically tired, and that was a shot in the ass.

Polygondwanaland I would’ve liked it more if I had not listened to 11 hours before of the same band. But I was into it, the charm was wearing off a bit but I would put it in the category of Flying Microtonal and Nonagon – it belonged to that family. I can’t believe I know the names of albums now! I feel like I’ve crammed before my Spanish exam!

Lowlights



Oddments. I wasn’t really into that ‘Vegemite’ song. That was sorta stupid.

Skip YouTube Video FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.

It was getting pretty hard around Quarters. There were nice moments - ‘God Is In the Rhythm’ was a vibe - but none of that needed to be 10 minutes. It was one of those ideas that should’ve stayed at the 2am kick-on.

Paper Mâché Dream Balloon was very renaissance, very flute-y. It looked like a ‘60s kids show kind of vibe but it was borderline Spinal Tap in a lot of parts. I was like, alright this getting pretty rough right now and I don’t know how much I can take. It was well written and well produced with pop sensibilities. I could see the levelling up, and the production made it more interesting. But it was silly and not the silly I like.

Sketches of Brunswick East was fine. I got worried, I thought there were people arguing in traffic out front of my house, but it was just the sound fx of the song.

So, what would he tell the Angus that started this madcap odyssey?

“Let it go. Frozen style baby, just sit back, listen, and go on this journey. Never become someone that says you don’t like something because you don’t think you do. That sucks; I’d hate to become that person. I’m glad I did something like this.”

Woah, what!? Gizz mad Gus zen? Yep, despite some harsh lows, by journey’s end, it’s gone better than even Angus had anticipated.

“There was a moment where something clicked and I was like ‘sick, I get this now’. There hasn’t been a big guitar rock phase for me for a while, but I’m loving what they’re doing."

There’s nothing embarrassing about them, they’re just fun and goofy. I love that.

And it’s not just the delirium of indoctrination talking...

“I know a lot of people were like ‘you’re going to be crazy by the end of this’ but I think it’s been a nice way to critically approach something and be considerate of them as artists and what they do. Not clown on them or hang shit on them. Kudos to the boys, you’ve got a new fan.”

Final Thoughts:

“They're music nerds who are cool. There’s no trend-chasing, they’re like pop-up stores: ‘This album is our thrash album’, ‘This is our heavy metal album’, folk, boogie, narration. I love that they pick a theme and they execute it, I have a lot of respect for artists that can do that. They’re not just churning out another record. I guess at one point that made me feel it felt impenetrable but now I’m pumped that I get it.”

There you have it. And Angus AnGizz has even ordered a tie-dyed shirt for #AusmusicTShirtDay and will be checking out the upcoming live album and concert movie Chunky Shrapnel...

“Yeah, dog! The whole time I was listening I was thinking ‘I really wish I could see this band live!’"

"I’ve been working at festivals, as part of what we do, so many times they’re there and now have instantly regretted not paying attention to them. I think I’m going to watch it.”