Douglas recommends “Pleura” by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Infest the Rats’ Nest may have been the record that made me believe in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, but L.W. made me a Gizzhead and aficionado of the Gizzverse. When I heard “Pleura,” I saw just how deep the Gizzverse could go, and I wasn’t alone. My friend Matt was there with me.
The year was 2021. Months after releasing K.G., the Australian rockers dropped “Pleura” ahead of L.W. The idea of them following up one album with another so quickly should not have come as a shock. King Gizzard famously released Infest the Rats’ Nest, their heaviest album, just months after Fishing for Fishies, one of their mellowest albums. It was, however, enough to capture my attention so that I listened to “Pleura.” I realized then that if L.W. was anything like “Pleura,” then King Gizzard was producing their most heavy, metallic, bombastic sounds since Rats’ Nest, the record that made me fall in love with them in the first place.
With colorful, psych rock sounds, “Pleura” was a progression and evolution of a sound established with Rats’ Nest. While most of the songs on Rats’ Nest represented 80’s thrash, “Pleura” explored hard rock and dark psychedelia. I fell in love with the song in a way that prompted further exploration of the band. I then began discussing these developments with my friend Matt.
Matt and I met in an introduction to philosophy class at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. When we first hung out, he introduced me to Breaking Bad. Later, I would witness him play bass live with his band Cimmerian, which melted my face off and cemented our bond over metal. Matt eventually graduated the year before me. After I graduated, I moved back home to New York City. He visited me one December in 2012, and we had a good time in the city. It was a fairly wholesome time, with lots of food adventures. When grabbing New York bagels, he introduced me to tofu vegan cream cheese, which I liked. In any event, that was the last time I saw him in person. I haven’t seen him ever since then.
Soon after that visit, Matt moved to Tennessee. Despite the distance, however, we remained very close this past decade. Whether it was book-clubbing graphic novels like Preacher, talking about music, or discussing meditation practices, our friendship grew stronger over the years. After King Gizzard dropped Rats’ Nest, we discussed frequently whether King GIzzard would ever return to playing heavy metal. When King Gizzard released “Pleura,” it felt like that moment had come.
With “Pleura,” Matt and I together began in earnest my descent into the Gizzverse, the fictional universe King Gizzard built with their interrelated discography. The buildup towards the release of L.W. and our shared journey that followed was a reminder that music creates specific memories of particular moments with important people. With every release, we return to the Gizzverse. Oftentimes what happens is if one of us falls out of the loop, the other one picks up the slack to take us back to the Gizzverse.
Of course, Matt and I need not meet only in the Gizzverse now that Matt has moved back to Pennsylvania, one state away from me in New York. Mid-December, we will break our ten-year streak and reunite in person. Knowing King Gizzard, by the time Matt and I see each other again, there might be more records in the Gizzverse.
Douglas Menagh received his MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. His writing has appeared in Memoir Mixtapes, New Noise Magazine, Alt Press, FLOOD, Meow Meow Pow Pow, HOOT Review, Ghost Cult, and Drunk Monkeys. He teaches English and History in New York City.
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