King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard became an indie rock institution by constantly evolving, quickly and effortlessly shifting their approach from album to album; in the process, they compiled a breathtakingly wide-ranging yet tightly constructed catalog. On 2022's double album
Omnium Gatherum, the band abandon their usual way of constructing records around a unified sound or theme and cut loose, jumping wildly from style to style -- some tried and true, some brand new. They revisit some old avenues on the dusty microtonal "Magenta Mountain" and the thrash metal "Gaia"; mosey through some lite jazz-funk reminiscent of Sketches of Brunswick East; dig a little deeper into funky beats, sounding like
Beck on "Persistence" and
Tame Impala on the shimmery "Kepler-22b"; and take a left turn into rap. "Sadie Sorceress" is a ringer for post-Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys. As always, the band play with unbridled energy, and the result is their widest-ranging album to date. ~ Tim Sendra