Flight b741 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 9 August 2024 | |||
Genre | Blues rock | |||
Length | 43:06 | |||
Label | p(doom) | |||
Producer | Stu Mackenzie | |||
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Flight b741 | ||||
|
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.2/10 [1] |
Metacritic | 76/100 [2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
DIY | [4] |
Far Out | [5] |
The Guardian | [6] |
Record Collector | [7] |
Under the Radar | 8.5/10 [8] |
Flight b741 is the 26th studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 9 August 2024. The album was announced on 1 July and was made available for pre-order eight days later. [9] This album marks a return to the band's blues rock and boogie sound. Flight b741 is the first King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard record to be released on their new label, P(doom) Records.
At the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated for Best Rock Album. [10]
On 27 October 2023, when the band released their 25th studio album, The Silver Cord, they posted a thank you post via Instagram [11] while teasing another record. On 6 May 2024, the band announced their new label, p(doom) Records, which they named after the concept of P(doom) in artificial intelligence. [12] During the European leg of the band's World Tour 2024, multiple songs from Flight b741 would be debuted a month before the album's announcement. [13]
The album was based on jam sessions and sees the band incorporating a blues rock style reminiscent of their sound on 2019's Fishing for Fishies . Lead vocalist Stu Mackenzie said about the record: "We're having a lot of fun, but we're often singing about some pretty heavy shit," Mackenzie adds, "and probably hitting on some deeper, more universal themes than usual. It's not a sci-fi record, it's about life and stuff. But the record is like a really fun weekend with your mates, you know? Like, proper fun." [14]
Mackenzie also stated:
This is our most collaborative record – the collaboration was occurring in the room, it was free, and everyone was bringing in songs and ideas. And we wanted to have as many lead vocalists as we could, and to pass the mic, like, 'This is my part, my idea, I'm gonna sing it and then I'm gonna pass the mic along to you and you can do your thing'. The whole record is built around that. [15]
On October 29, 2024, the band made a surprise announcement of a new single, "Phantom Island". In the announcement, the band noted that the Flight b741 recording sessions had actually resulted in the creation of twenty songs, with only the first ten included on Flight b741 itself. The remaining ten were recorded with a full orchestra and announced to be their own album. [16]
The album cover for Flight b741 was designed by Jason Galea and features a wooden airplane piloted by eight pigs. According to an Instagram post by Galea, the airplane is a model, and the pigs were meticulously crafted from clay.
Publication/critic | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
MOJO | 75 Best Albums of 2024 | 72 | [17] |
All tracks are written by Michael Cavanagh, Cook Craig, Lucas Harwood, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Stu Mackenzie, and Joey Walker, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocalists | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mirage City" |
| 4:48 | |
2. | "Antarctica" |
| 4:32 | |
3. | "Raw Feel" |
| 4:17 | |
4. | "Field of Vision" |
| 3:35 | |
5. | "Hog Calling Contest" |
| 3:21 | |
6. | "Le Risque" |
|
| 3:34 |
7. | "Flight b741" |
| 3:58 | |
8. | "Sad Pilot" |
|
| 4:12 |
9. | "Rats in the Sky" |
| 3:07 | |
10. | "Daily Blues" |
| 7:42 | |
Total length: | 43:06 |
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Additional musicians
Technical
Artwork
Chart (2024) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] | 8 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [19] | 66 |
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [20] | 8 |
UK Albums Sales (OCC) [21] | 25 |
US Billboard 200 [22] | 118 |
US Independent Albums ( Billboard ) [23] | 21 |
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (KGLW) are an Australian rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, and Michael Cavanagh. They are known for exploring multiple genres, staging energetic live shows, and building a prolific discography.
Nonagon Infinity is the eighth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 29 April 2016 on ATO Records. The album is designed to play as an "infinite loop" where each song segues into the next and the last song segues into the first, so that "the record can be played front-to-back-to-front-to-back and the sound won't break". The title is a reference to this idea, as there are nine songs on the album that could be played "infinitely".
Flying Microtonal Banana is the ninth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 24 February 2017 on Flightless Records in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the first of five albums released by the band in 2017 and their first exploration of microtonal music, utilising custom-built instruments.
Paper Mâché Dream Balloon is the seventh studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 13 November 2015 on the band's Bandcamp, and then a week later on Heavenly Records. The album was recorded with almost entirely acoustic instruments.
Quarters! is the sixth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 1 May 2015 on Heavenly Records, peaking at No. 99 on the ARIA Charts.
12 Bar Bruise is the debut studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 7 September 2012 on Flightless. It peaked at No. 14 on the ARIA Albums Chart after being released on vinyl in November 2018.
I'm in Your Mind Fuzz is the fifth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 31 October 2014 on Flightless Records in Australia, just over a week later on 11 November in the United States on Castle Face Records, and on 1 December that same year on Heavenly Records worldwide. At the J Awards of 2014, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year. I'm in Your Mind Fuzz was the band's first album to chart on the ARIA charts, peaking at number 85.
Murder of the Universe is the tenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 23 June 2017 by Flightless in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the second of five albums released by the band in 2017.
Sketches of Brunswick East is the eleventh studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and the third by Mild High Club. The title is a reference to the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick East and Miles Davis' 1960 LP Sketches of Spain, which inspired the album's jazz-oriented sound. It was released on 18 August 2017, by Flightless in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the third of five albums released by the band in 2017.
Polygondwanaland is the twelfth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. The album was released under a BY-ND Creative Commons license—the band uploaded the master tapes online for anyone to freely use. The fourth of five albums released by the band in 2017, it was released on 17 November 2017.
Gumboot Soup is the thirteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 31 December 2017 by Flightless. The album is the final of five albums released by the band in 2017. The artwork was designed by longtime band collaborator Jason Galea.
Fishing for Fishies is the fourteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 26 April 2019 by Flightless and ATO Records. The announcement of the album was accompanied by the release of the title track and its video.
Infest the Rats' Nest is the fifteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 16 August 2019 by the band's record label, Flightless, and ATO Records. The album sees the band using a heavy metal and thrash metal style, which they had only briefly touched upon on previous albums. Its lyrics address environmental themes such as climate change and ecological disaster through a cli-fi narrative involving space colonisation.
K.G. is the sixteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 20 November 2020 on their own label. The album was preceded by four singles, the first three were released alongside music videos uploaded to YouTube. K.G. is a sonic "sequel" to Flying Microtonal Banana, which was subtitled "Explorations into Microtonal Tuning, Volume 1" and also a direct predecessor to L.W..
Butterfly 3000 is the eighteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 11 June 2021. It is the band's first album not released on Flightless Records, instead being released on the band's own label KGLW. It is their second studio LP of 2021, following February's L.W.. The album was described as "melodic" and "psychedelic" upon its initial announcement on 10 May, along with the words "cross-eyed autostereogram", in reference to the album art.
Made in Timeland is the nineteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 5 March 2022 on Flightless in Australia, and ATO in the U.S. Produced by Stu Mackenzie, the album consists of two fifteen-minute-long tracks, each taking one side of the record.
Stuart Douglas Mackenzie is an Australian musician best known as the frontman of rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. He serves as singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist for the band and is recognized as its leader, a role he has filled since its formation in 2010.
Changes is the 23rd studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 28 October 2022. It is the third album the band released during October 2022 and fifth and final album to be released overall during the year.
Live at The Gorge '24 is a live album by Australian-rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released digitally on 17 September 2024 on Bandcamp. It compiles the band's three three-hour marathon show at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Grant County, Washington on 14 September 2024. This is also the last show of the first leg of the band's 2024 US tour.
Live in Chicago '24 is a live album by Australian-rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, self released digitally on 4 September 2024 on Bandcamp. The album features the band's three three-hour marathon show at the Huntington Bank Pavilion in Northerly Island, Chicago, Illinois on 1 September 2024.