King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, “Phantom Island.” It’s not uncommon for various symphonies to lay down lavish string accompaniments for bands like Metallica and AC/DC. Often, these live concerts give fans an excuse to clean themselves up, wear something fancy and pretend rock and roll isn’t a hive…

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, “Flight b741.” Rock and roll is, above all, supposed to be fun. On the latest from King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard, the Australian psych band leans in on having fun by harkening back to the glory days of the ‘70s. On Flight b741,…

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…

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, “PetroDragonic Apocalypse or Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation.” Can you believe that it’s already June and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are just getting around to releasing their first album of 2023?…

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, “Changes.” King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard seem determined that their fans should have very little free time. Who knows how long it will take to fully absorb and process the five albums the six-member Melbourne psych-rock outfit has released this year alone?…

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, “Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And Lava.” Sometimes musicians who like to jam a lot get called self-indulgent. After all, long improvisational pieces are often more fun to make than to listen to, and there’s a self-pleasing element to jettisoning song structure and…

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, “Omnium Gatherium.” By Thomas Richards King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard continue their usual pattern of 90-degree sonic turns with their latest release, Omnium Gatherium. Almost shockingly, it’s their 19th studio album in just under a decade as a group. After having to write…

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, “Butterfly 3000.” By Thomas Richards Australian band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is still able to surprise even longtime listeners with the directions its music takes it. Released only a few months after their last album, L.W. and three-fourths of a year…

By Thomas Richards The everchanging Australian group King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard keeps its reputation of being one of the most eclectic bands intact with its 16th full-length album, K.G. This being the first album released after the departure of band manager and drummer Eric Moore, some were…

Gary Clark Jr. performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 25, 2019. Shawn Robbins/Staff. For those who haven’t been reading this column for its entire two-year run, the reason it’s called “RIFF Rewind” is because for its first year I listed the top five…