Album Review - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Live at Levitation (December 10, 2021)
In conjunction with The Reverberation Appreciation Society, Australian psych rock darlings King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are releasing Live at Levitation! This is the fourth release in the series and follows Live at Levitation releases from Kikagaku Moyo, The Black Angels and Primal Scream. The release will be a two LP and comes in some astonishingly awesome color patterns. Live at Levitation is unique because it contains tracks from their appearances at Levitation in both 2014 and 2016. Something else that sets this release apart is that the 2014 show at Levitation was the band's first performance stateside.
The 2014 set hits you like a fist to the face right out of the gate. As the band comes in crashing with bangers like "I'm In Your Mind", "I'm Not In Your Mind", "Cellophane", and "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" not stopping between tracks or missing a beat. The band are particularly tight on their rendition of "Sleepwalker" that you feel permeate at you so well, that it almost seems like you're there.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's 2016 shows (yes they had two!) at Levitation were a minor miracle because the festival was canceled due to severe weather. However, their shows were still able to go on in the now defunct Barracuda in downtown Austin, TX. This recording captures one of the two shows at Barracuda and was recorded by Craig Lawrence and mixed by Stu Mackenzie at the band's studio. It's important to note that Mackenzie mastered the recordings specifically for vinyl, so you collectors out there, this is a must have. The 2016 show features a band that is supremely confident in their abilities and provides a nice juxtaposition to the 2014 show where you see a band still evolving.
There are few bands that bring as much energy to a live show the way King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard do. Live at Levitation is able to capture that energy in a way that many live albums can't. This has everything to do with the band's tenacity and the care put into the production of the recording. With this being a surprise release, we're glad it's here and it's just in time for the holidays. So now you have another gift idea for that special King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard fan for the holidays, or you can just get it for yourself.
Rating - 5/5
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