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Oct 03, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Maclay Heriot

Melbourne-based psych-rock group King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have officially announced a new album, The Silver Cord, and shared its first three songs—“Theia,” “The Silver Cord,” and “Set”—via one music video. The album will be available in two versions with one featuring extended versions of each song. The Silver Cord is due out October 27 via KGLW. Check out the three songs below, followed by the album’s tracklist and cover artwork, as well as the band’s upcoming tour dates.

Of the two versions of the album, the band’s singer/guitarist Stu Mackenzie says: “The first version’s really condensed, trimming all the fat. And on the second version, that first song, ‘Theia,’ is 20 minutes long. It’s the ‘everything’ version—those seven songs you’ve already heard on the first version, but with a whole lot of other shit we record while making it. It’s for the Gizz-heads. I love Donna Summer’s records with Giorgio Moroder, and I’d never listen to the short versions now—I’m one of those people who wants to hear the whole thing. We’re testing the boundaries of people’s attention spans when it comes to listening to music, perhaps—but I’m heavily interested in destroying such concepts.”

On The Silver Cord, King Gizzard try on electronic music. “We come at electronic music from an amateur angle,” says Mackenzie. “I play the Juno synthesizer like a guitar, I don’t really know how to play it. But I wanted to be at peace with being the rock band pretending to know how to use modular synthesizers. We’re in uncharted waters, we’re further out to sea, but leaning into it, and we got to a spot where we were really happy with what came out.”

And out to sea is where the band likes to be. “It’s liberating to terrify yourself,” Mackenzie says. “I really believe in that as a philosophy. It’s always been part of our DNA. It’s something we’ve always done, putting ourselves in a position where the cortisol kicks in, pushing ourselves off the bridge and forcing ourselves to swim. Maybe we’ve got the thrill-seeker gene in us or something. It’s definitely my idea of fun.”

The Silver Cord follows the elaborately titled PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation, which came out in June.

The Silver Cord Tracklist:

1 LP Version:

1. Theia
2. The Silver Cord
3. Set
4. Chang’e
5. Gilgamesh
6. Swan Song
7. Extinction

2 LP Version:

1. Theia - Extended Mix
2. The Silver Cord - Extended Mix
3. Set - Extended Mix
4. Chang’e - Extended Mix
5. Gilgamesh - Extended Mix
6. Swan Song - Extended Mix
7. Extinction - Extended Mix

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Tour Dates:

Wed. May 22, 2024 - Hamburg, Germany @ Stadtpark Open Air - MARATHON SHOW
Sat. May 25, 2024 - London, UK @ Wide Awake Festival - HEADLINE SET
Fri. Aug. 16, 2024 - Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium - MARATHON SHOW
Sat. Aug. 17, 2024 - Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium - MARATHON SHOW
Sun. Sept. 1, 2024 - Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island - MARATHON SHOW, SOLD OUT
Sat. Sept. 14, 2024 - Quincy, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre - MARATHON SHOW
Fri. Nov. 15, 2024 - Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater - MARATHON SHOW

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