On Friday, Aug. 9, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will unveil Flight b741, the band’s highly-anticipated 26th studio album. For its forthcoming release, the prolific Australian psych ensemble changes course from its trademark high-concept, thematically airtight projects, steering instead into the uncharted freedom of a “no concept” album. Today, the group demos this prospect with “Field of Vision,” the album’s third and final preview single after “Hog Calling Contest” and “Le Risque.”
“Field of Vision” is a greased-up garage rock stomper, driven to dust by the band’s six-piston ignition and smoldering like a tire fire. Gizz’s sleazy ‘70s Southern rock side sizzles to the fore with a lead guitar in super overdrive and the crack of a tambourine, which haul a heavy load of shouts, wailing harmonica and ascendant harmonies at the track’s bridge. On the origins of the advance offering, lead vocalist Stu Mackenzie offers:
“I remember Joey sending me a voice memo of him playing that main riff on acoustic guitar. From his couch to mine. The arrangement was a bit more complicated originally, I think. Perhaps it was closer to the ‘I lied to god’ bridge that came together in the end. Anyway, I don’t think I really understood it or felt the groove, but once we were recording in the studio with the others, it grooved hard. The verse and chorus changes came together quickly and in real time, and we had a tune on our hands. Joey’s baby, this song. And Joey likes to do it right.
“Joey called me a couple of weeks after the sessions, saying we gotta cut the track “‘cos it’s sh*t”. What a bummer. And a surprise. Myself and Amby (who loved it) spent the next two days in the studio laying down our vocal parts and overdubs, trying to save it. We dubbed in the guitar-solo-type-section with parts chopped up from outtakes and added a blown out guitar solo. It was a $100 harmony acoustic guitar played through some outboard gear that it was definitely not designed to be used with ha ha. Studios are fun. I hoped he liked it. We printed the tape and sent it to him with a note saying, ‘pleeease man, this has gotta be on the record.’ Joey obliged (but not until after he redid all of his parts). Groove restored.
“We hope you dig it. Love stu xoxo.”
Following their first release on their newly minted p(doom) imprint, King Gizzard will support Flight b741 with an exhaustive 44-date tour of North America and Europe, which begins on Thursday, Aug. 15 with a show at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. Further highlights from this run include two three-hour sets at Queens, N.Y.’s Forest Hills Stadium on Aug. 16 and 17 and a three-show residency at Morrison, Colo.’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Sept. 8 and 9. For tickets and more information on the massive cross-country run, visit kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com.
Listen to “Field of Vision” and watch the behind-the-scenes mini-documentary “Oink Oink Flight b741: The Making of…” below. Read on for the complete list of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s 2024 tour dates.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard 2024 Tour Dates:
Thu. Aug. 15- Washington, DC @ The Anthem % [SOLD OUT]
Fri. Aug. 16- Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium * %
Sat. Aug. 17 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium * % [SOLD OUT]
Mon. Aug. 19 – Boston, MA @ The Stage at Suffolk Downs %
Tue. Aug. 20 – Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point % [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Aug. 21 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage &
Fri. Aug. 23 – Detroit, MI @ Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre ^ &
Sat. Aug. 24 – Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion & [SOLD OUT]
Sun. Aug. 25 – Newport, KY @ MegaCorp Pavilion Outdoor &
Tue. Aug. 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Dell Music Center & [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Aug. 28 – Richmond, VA @ Brown’s Island &
Fri. Aug. 30 – Asheville, NC @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena & [SOLD OUT]
Sat. Aug. 31 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater &
Sun. Sept. 1 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island * & [SOLD OUT]
Tue. Sept. 3 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory &
Wed. Sept. 4 – Milwaukee, WI @ Miller High Life Theatre &
Thu. Sept. 5 – St. Louis, MO @ The Factory & [SOLD OUT]
Fri. Sept. 6 – Omaha, NE @ The Astro Amphitheater &
Sun. Sept. 8 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre & [SOLD OUT]
Mon. Sept. 9 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre [EARLY SHOW] &
Mon. Sept. 9 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre [LATE SHOW] &
Wed. Sept. 11 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield Amphitheater & [SOLD OUT]
Thu. Sept. 12 – Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum &
Sat. Sept. 14 – Quincy, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre * %
Fri. Nov. 1 – Inglewood, CA @ The Forum @
Sat. Nov. 2 – San Diego, CA @ The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park ^ @
Sun. Nov. 3 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre @ [SOLD OUT]
Mon. Nov. 4 – Stanford, CA @ Frost Amphitheater at Stanford @
Fri. Nov. 8 – Las Vegas, NV @ Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood @
Sat. Nov. 9 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre #
Sun. Nov. 10 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel Entertainment #
Tue. Nov. 12 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion #
Wed. Nov. 13 – Fayetteville, AR @ JJ’s Live # [SOLD OUT]
Fri. Nov. 15 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater *#
Sat. Nov. 16 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall #
Sun. Nov. 17 – New Orleans, LA @ Mardi Gras World #
Tue. Nov. 19 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre Atlanta # [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Nov. 20 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre #
Thu. Nov. 21 – Miami, FL @ Factory Town #
Sun. May 18 – Tue. May 20, 2025 – Lisbon, PT @ Coliseu do Recreios
Fri. May 23 – Sun. May 25, 2025 – Barcelona, ES @ Poble Espanyol
Thu. May 29 – Sat. May 31, 2025 – Vilnius, LT @ Lukiškės Prison 2.0
Wed. June 4 – Fri. June 6, 2025 – Athens, GR @ Lycabettus Theatre City of Athens
Sun. June 8 – Tue. June 10, 2025 – Plovdiv, BG @ Ancient Theatre
* 3-HOUR MARATHON SET
^ ACOUSTIC SET
% w/ GEESE, DJ Crenshaw
& w/ GEESE
@ w/ KING STINGRAY, DJ Crenshaw
# w/ KING STINGRAY
