If there’s one thing to be said about King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, it’s that they never gather dust. Not even three weeks after the release of their latest studio album, K.G., King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are back with a new single, “If Not Now, Then When?” released on Thursday along with a music video.
Released last month, K.G. was only the first studio album from the Australian genre-hoppers put out this year. Instead, the group has focused on distributing a trove of live content culled from years of fevered touring around the world. In addition to the Chunky Shrapnel live album and concert film, King Gizzard also shared Live In San Francisco ’16 on the same day K.G. was released in November, all of this on top of a multitude of concerts shared on Bandcamp to raise money for Australian wildfire relief.
The song opens in a distinctly King Gizzard crash of cymbals, screeching guitar, and general chaos that just seems like it will go on forever. However, the band eventually finds its peace and stops on a dime to reveal a funky clavinet that will guide the rest of the 3:55 minute track. Meanwhile in the animated video directed by Dr. D Foothead—who has also worked for other alt icons Adult Swim and Oh Sees—we find a woman plagued by the presence of a black hole that swallows up everything near and dear to her, and eventually even herself. Likewise, the song’s lyrics ask the question of when—as a society—we will start caring about a myriad of issues like environmental conservation, privacy from big tech, the grip of big pharma, and more. If not now, then when?
“The song made me consider how individual action or inaction affects the world,” Dr. D Foothead says of the video. “What happens when our repressed pain, darkness and confusion manifest and influence our surroundings and relationships? I wanted to explore the journey of a character who has neglected their inner shadow, and how this energy manifests physically and becomes a force of its own.”
Watch the music video for the new King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard track, “If Not Now, Then When?”. Scroll down to see the lyrics.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “If Not Now, Then When?”
[Video: King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard]