King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard cavort in an airplane hangar in the Guy Tyzack-directed video for “Le Risque,” the first single from the Australian band’s upcoming new album, Flight b741. A deliciously naughty helping of four-to-the-floor disco rock with ELO swagger and a bridge nicked from Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” the track also features the vocal debut of drummer Michael “Cavs” Cavanagh.
“We were super lucky to have been granted access to this amazing air hanger,” says Tyzack, who previously worked on the band’s “Black Hot Soup” video in 2021. “The song was chosen because most of the Gizz guys had a singing part and I was excited for the mic to be passed around at a fun, never-stopping pace. We were so tight for time that I didn’t pee all day.”
“Le Risque” is one of five songs debuted during Gizzard’s recent European tour from Flight b741, which bursts forth with the most knee-slapping, ass-shaking, frizzle-fried, Zippo-in-the-air set of material in their 26-album discography. It will be released Aug. 9 on the band’s own p(doom) records imprint.
“This is our most collaborative record,” says group member Stu Mackenzie. “The collaboration was occurring in the room. It was free, and everyone was bringing in songs and ideas. 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. We ended up doing a lot of backing vocals and extra recording [with] everyone in a room around a couple of microphones, just to give it that feel.”
While Flight b741 sure feels like a concept album about the literal highs and lows of a journey by air, Mackenzie for now will only concede to crafting “broad themes for every song, and for the bigger picture of the album as a whole, but once the mic was passed, it was all up to the person who was singing. These songs weren’t written in isolation – someone would write their verse, sing it for the demo and that would inspire the next person’s part. So, we were riffing off each other. Lyrically, it’s all pretty introspective. We’re having a lot of fun, but we’re often singing about some pretty heavy shit, and probably hitting on some deeper, more universal themes than usual. It’s not a sci-fi record. It’s about life and stuff.”
King Gizzard will return to North America on Aug. 15 in Washington, D.C., for visits to the largest venues they’ve played in the country to date, including Los Angeles’ 18,000-capacity Kia Forum and the 21,600-capacity Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington state. Beforehand, group member Ambrose Kenny-Smith and Tame Impala/Pond principal Jay Watson will release their first collaboration, Ill Times, on July 19 through (p)doom records.
