K.G. (album)

K.G. (subtitled Explorations into Microtonal Tuning, Volume 2) is the sixteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 20 November 2020 on their own label.^[2] The album was preceded by four singles, the first three ("Honey",^[3] "Some of Us"^[4] and "Straws in the Wind"^[5]) 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..^[6]

K.G.
Studio album by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Released	20 November 2020 (2020-11-20)
Genre	Psychedelic rock^[1]
Length	41:52
Label	KGLW
Producer	Stu Mackenzie
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard chronology
Live in San Francisco '16 (2020) K.G. (2020) Teenage Gizzard (2020)
Singles from K.G.
"Honey" Released: 14 July 2020 "Some of Us" Released: 13 August 2020 "Straws in the Wind" Released: 15 September 2020 "Automation" Released: 20 October 2020 "Intrasport" Released: 19 November 2020

"Automation"

"Automation", the fourth single preceding the album, was released for free on the band's website. In addition to the raw audio files for "Automation" as a whole, the band also includes the files for separate audio channels within the song such as vocals, violin, clarinet and flute, as well as video files for the music video, which the band encourages the fans to use to make their own remixes and music videos.^[7] All of these files require a torrent client to be installed on the user's device. Since the release of "Automation", there have been many remixes and music videos edited by fans and posted on sites like Reddit and YouTube.^[8] A number of these have been highlighted by the band in the King Gizzard newsletter "Gizzymail", namely in Gizzymail 6.^[9]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100^[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[11]
Exclaim!	7/10^[12]
NME	^[13]
Pitchfork	8.0/10^[14]
Under the Radar	^[15]

Track listing

Announced by the band on 21 October 2020.^[2] Track durations taken from shop listing.^[16] Vinyl releases have tracks 1–5 on Side A, and tracks 6–10 on Side B.^[17]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"K.G.L.W."	Stu Mackenzie	1:37
2.	"Automation"	Mackenzie	3:30
3.	"Minimum Brain Size"	Joey Walker	4:19
4.	"Straws in the Wind"	Mackenzie Ambrose Kenny-Smith	5:42
5.	"Some of Us"	Cook Craig Mackenzie	3:53
6.	"Ontology"	Mackenzie	3:58
7.	"Intrasport"	Walker	4:13
8.	"Oddlife"	Mackenzie Kenny-Smith	4:58
9.	"Honey"	Mackenzie	4:34
10.	"The Hungry Wolf of Fate"	Mackenzie	5:08
Total length:			41:52

Personnel

Credits for K.G. adapted from liner notes.^[18]

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

• Stu Mackenzie – vocals (tracks 2, 4-6, 8-10), guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4-6, 8-10), bass guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8-10), percussion (tracks 1, 2, 4, 8-10), keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9), flute (tracks 1-4, 6), sitar (tracks 1, 3), synthesiser (tracks 7, 8), clavinet (tracks 5-7), xylophone (track 5), violin (track 6), vibraphone (track 6), horns (track 6), Mellotron (track 7), piano (track 8), clarinet (track 9), organ (track 9)
• Michael Cavanagh – drums (tracks 2-10), percussion (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
• Cook Craig – guitar (tracks 4-6, 10), bass guitar (track 5), piano (track 4, 5, 9), keyboards (track 4, 5), synthesiser (tracks 5, 8, 10), sitar (track 4), percussion (track 5), clarinet (track 5), flute (track 5)
• Ambrose Kenny-Smith – vocals (tracks 4, 6, 8), harmonica (tracks 1-6, 9), keyboards (track 4), percussion (tracks 6, 8), synthesiser (track 2)
• Joey Walker – vocals (track 3, 7), guitar (tracks 3, 7), bass guitar (tracks 3, 9), juno (track 3), bağlama (track 3), synthesiser (track 7), Elektron Digitakt (track 7), percussion (track 7)
• Lucas Harwood – bass guitar (track 10), percussion (track 8)

Additional personnel

• Bella Walker – backing vocals (track 3)

Production

• Stu Mackenzie – production, mixing (tracks 1, 2, 4-6, 8-10), recording (tracks 1, 2, 4-6, 8-10)
• Joey Walker – mixing (tracks 3, 7), recording (tracks 3, 7)
• Michael Cavanagh – recording (tracks 3, 4, 6-8, 10)
• Cook Craig – recording (track 5)
• Joseph Carra – mastering
• Jason Galea – artwork

Charts

Chart performance for K.G.

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[19]	9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[20]	76
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[21]	11
UK Albums (OCC)^[22]	80
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)^[23]	40

References

1. Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (18 November 2020). "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's KG: sensitive microtonal psych-rock". New Statesman. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
2. Minsker, Evan (21 October 2020). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce 2 Albums, Share New Song "Automation": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
3. Strauss, Matthew (14 July 2020). "Watch King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's Video for New Song "Honey"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
4. Broerman, Michael (13 August 2020). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Release Nightmarish Single "Some Of Us" [Video]". L4LM. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
5. Jenke, Tyler (16 September 2020). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Share New Single, 'Straws in The Wind'". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
6. "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Revisit Microtonal on New LP 'K.G' & Announce 'Live in S.F. '16' LP". Glide Magazine. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
7. DeVille, Chris (21 October 2020). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – "Automation"". Stereogum. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
8. "r/KGATLW - AUTOMATION EDIT TRACKER - All 66 Known Video Edits and/or Remixes!". Reddit. 26 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
9. "r/KGATLW - Hey hey hey! Got a nod from Stu in Gizzymail 6!". Reddit. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
10. "K.G. by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
11. Sendra, Tim. "K.G. - King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
12. Hopfe, Safiya (17 November 2020). "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Do What They Do Best on 'K.G.'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
13. Leivers, Dannii (18 November 2020). "King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – 'K.G.' review: same old material". NME. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
14. Berman, Stuart (3 March 2021). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: K.G. & L.W." Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
15. Jardine, Ben (25 November 2020). "K.G." Under the Radar. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
16. "King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – 'K.G.'". Gizzverse. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
17. "kinggizzard". Instagram. 5 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
18. Track listing and credits as per liner notes for K.G. album
19. "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
20. "Ultratop.be – King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – K.G." (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
23. "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2022.