King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard return with a new preview of their upcoming album Phantom Island.
The string-driven track “Grow Wings and Fly” strikes a balance between tenderness and propulsion, paired with a surreal underwater video featuring Ambrose Kenny-Smith as a worn sea creature drifting back into the depths.
Video director Hayden Somerville shares, “There are so many strange and beautiful ways to grow wings and fly. We had a very special time down the coast with the band and our crew, releasing our sea creature—who somehow makes me feel a little ill and completely full of joy at the same time.”
“Grow Wings and Fly” follows the jazz-laced title track and earlier single “Deadstick”, all of which feature on Phantom Island, the band’s 27th studio album, due out June 13th via their own (p)doom Records imprint.
This time out, the ever-evolving psych-rock collective is backed by a full orchestra—horns, strings, woodwinds and all. The seed was planted after their 2023 Hollywood Bowl set, where a chance encounter with members of the LA Philharmonic led to an invite to take part in a genre-melding concert series pairing classical musicians with rock bands.
Fast forward to 2024, and while parts of the project made it onto Flight b741, frontman Stu Mackenzie said the rest needed more breathing room.
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“The songs felt like they needed this other energy and colour, that we needed to splash some different paint on the canvas.”
To help, they tapped British historical keyboardist, conductor and arranger Chad Kelly.
“He brings this wealth of musical awareness to his chameleon-like arrangements,” Mackenzie said. “We come from such different worlds – he plays Mozart and Bach and uses the same harpsichords they did, and tunes them the exact same way. But he’s obsessed with microtonal music, too, and all this nerdy stuff like me.
Reflecting on the broader project, Mackenzie added: “When I was younger, I was just interested in freaking people out. But as I get older, I’m much more interested in connecting with people.”
Phantom Island hits stages abroad in July 2025. King Gizz will play just one US tour next year, joined each night by a different 29-piece local orchestra. No Australian dates have been announced—yet.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s “Grow Wings and Fly” is out now via via (p)doom Records.
