King Gizz Boogie Down and Pass the Mic on “Le Risque,” the First Single from New LP, ‘Flight b741’

Australian band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard will touch down on U.S. soil in a little over a month for a lengthy romp through some of North America’s most-hallowed theaters, theatres, amphitheaters and arenas including the The Forum in Los Angeles, three nights at Denver’s Red Rocks and, in November, a visit to The Amp in St. Augustine.   

In advance of their jaunt, this hugely popular band – whose music and confoundingly verbose band name remain largely unfamiliar to the majority of America’s listening public – has announced a new album, their 26th(!) full-length titled Flight b741, and shared the first single, “Le Risque,” a relatively straightforward blues boogie that finds two-thirds of the band taking stabs at lead vocals. 

After a manic run of esoteric, conceptual releases – which included a thrash-metal epic and an exploration of analog synths – King Gizzard are tapping into more conventional boomer rock for Flight b741, citing Steve Miller Band and The Band in press notes. “Le Risque” loops chugging drums and bass, as well as a Muddy Waters-esque, electric blues riff, only shifting subtly in dynamics for changes in the melodic approach of each vocalist. 

To write and record the new record, the sextet spent two weeks in the studio, essentially winging it. “We wanted to make something that was primal, instinctual, more ‘from the gut’,” vocalist and guitarist Stu Mackenzie said in a press release announcing the album. “Just people in a room, doing what feels right. We wanted to make something fun.” The boys certainly appear to be having fun in the video for “Le Risque,” decked out in flight suits and mugging like Goose and Maverick as they parade through a hangar of vintage aircraft and take turns lip syncing their individual verses. 

Flight b741 arrives August 9 on the band’s own (p)doom records. You can preorder the album here. King Gizz themselves arrive in D.C. on August 15 to kick off their tour. They play the St. Augustine Amphitheatre on Wednesday, November 15. Surprisingly there are still tickets available here.