King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Willoughby’s Beach (From the Vault)
hey folks, welcome to some discography reviews! i’ve been writing music reviews for some friends in a discord server for a few years now in various forms, but i figured i’d like to get them all in a more centralized space, so here we are! this first series of reviews is a review of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s discography, starting here in 2011 with Willoughby’s Beach and running right into 2021 with Butterfly 3000. this review was originally written in July 2021.
obv, first up on the docket is 2011’s Willoughby’s Beach, the band’s… well technically the band’s second EP. the first EP was Anglesea, which wasn’t really made available until it was compiled in 2020 (and escaped my reviews… i should probably fix that). this EP though, was their first release with a record label, and kicks off the discography proper.
since this is my first review of the KGLW, i’ll mention some of my experience with the band going in – a friend had put together a playlist of their music that i had jammed to quite a bit, but my only album experiences had been a listen or two of Nonagon Infinity, and a single listen of Eyes Like the Sky.
and yknow, straight up this EP is fucking banging. 23 minutes long, and each song BLAZES, in a good way. Danger $$$ is such a hype opener. love the little taste of the harmonica in there. I’m normally a real lyrics-focused person but most of these songs are hyper stripped down lyrically – not absent but definitely light – and honestly it fits. Lunch Meat’s vocals, for example, match the rambling strain of the guitar in such a cool way. And i really liked the transitions throughout – Lunch Meat into Crookedile is great. I really liked how brisk the pace was, and the longest song on the EP, Let It Bleed, didn’t really catch me. Def a rest point sitting in the middle of the tracklist, haha. liked Dead-Beat a ton, but felt like the outro was a little long. ngl, with Stoned Mullet i could only think of the song from the Venture Bros. Good song, but my brain is poisoned. Willoughby’s Beach is a chill closer but doesn’t quite hit the high energy levels i really dug from the beginning of the EP.
faves – Danger $$$, Lunch Meat
dislikes –
overall, i really liked the changes in pace and style throughout the EP, i ADORED the high energy opening and some of the more punky sections, but no part of it turned me off at all. Really excellent first EP, big fan and excited to see the sound develop into some of the space i’m already more familiar with.
Willoughby’s Beach – 7/10
next up on the docket is 12 Bar Bruise!
support the band by buying this record on Bandcamp
this is the beginning | next: 12 Bar Bruise
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