King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, “The Silver Cord.”

For many, life in the 21st century is about options. We can sample cuisines from all over the world, pursue any number of careers, pick from a seemingly endless variety of religious and spiritual traditions, embrace any number of strange ideologies—and there’s a King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard album out there to suit every variety of musical taste. The Australian band’s latest, The Silver Cord, comes in two varieties: a half-hour collection of seven songs strung together seamlessly and an extended mix where the same track list unfolds over the course of nearly 90 minutes.

Sonically, this is a synth-heavy outing in the vein of KGLW’s 2021 album Butterfly 3000. The retro futurist fun began when drummer Michael “Cavs” Cavanagh discovered an old electronic drum somewhere on the band’s extensive world travels. The band set up the electronic kit in the center of its studio, flanked by its impressive synth collection.

Blending the synthetic precision of Kraftwerk with the more emotive soundtrack work of Giorgio Moroder, The Silver Cord percolates with every manner of bloop, blip and beep.

Opening track “Theia” manages to be both spacey and spiritual in under five minutes.

“Theia, a force of destiny/ Fate intertwined with that of earth/ A ticking clock of new reality/ A spiritual rebirth/ And when Theia it did impact, the silver cord did snap as well/ Leaving the soul to sail on a journey beyond that which we dwell,” Frontman Stu Mackenzie sings. On the extended album, the track grows to nearly 20 minutes in length, sprawling with an epic motorik jam.

“Set” sounds a little more like electronic dance music with its shuffling synthetic hi-hats and more aggressive vocal melodies.

“Snout of a jackal and a tail of a snake/ Slithers and slinks through the desert, awake/ Gorges on moonbeams and bathes in quantum foam/ Unchallenged in the infinite unknown,” Mackenzie sings. While all of that may be a bit much to think about, it’s bound to sound great when you’re shaking your genetically modified tail feathers to the song aboard an orbiting disco.

The space-age swords and sorcery of the lyrics, along with the references to ancient and esoteric religious sects and deities, paint an elaborate mythology suitable for airbrushing on the side of a sweet Chevy van. On “Gilgamesh,” Mackenzie sings, “Gilgamesh/ A fiery temper/ Stranded in the deadly blender/ Weeping human clay/ No surrender.” There’s even more on “Swan Song:” “‘Tis the mothers voice on meek winds/ “Be unto the void for your sins”/ Flowers droop their heads in sorrow/ Rivers run with no tomorrow,” he sings over  angry alarm clock buzzing.

While it’s not exactly Milton, it is a vibe. And imbibed with the epic synthesized space jams, available in both short-acting and long-lasting formulations, The Silver Cord is a wild ride. Luckily, if this brand of cosmic slop doesn’t appeal to you, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard will back before you know it with another slice of sonic variety.