Their EP and first two albums, Willoughby's Beach (2011), 12 Bar Bruise (2012) and Eyes Like the Sky (2013), primarily blended surf music and garage rock, and were released on the band's independent record label, Flightless, founded by Moore in 2012. Their third to eighth albums—Float Along – Fill Your Lungs (2013), Oddments, I'm in Your Mind Fuzz (2014), Quarters!, Paper Mâché Dream Balloon (2015) and Nonagon Infinity (2016)—expanded their sound, including elements of film music, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, folk, jazz, soul and heavy metal.
In 2017, the band fulfilled a promise to release five studio albums within the year: Flying Microtonal Banana in February; Murder of the Universe in June; Sketches of Brunswick East, a collaboration with Mild High Club, in August; Polygondwanaland, which was released into the public domain, in November; and Gumboot Soup in December. The band released its fourteenth album, Fishing for Fishies, on 26 April 2019, followed by a fifteenth album, Infest the Rats' Nest, released on 16 August that year.
On the 19th of April they released their first feature-length film, concert movie "Chunky Shrapnel". Named after a lyric from the band’s 2017 song Murder Of The Universe, The film combines concert footage from the band’s 2019 European tour with documentary style-filmmaking of King Gizzard behind the scenes. While Chunky Shrapnel does also document the band offstage, the film’s director, Josh Angus Stewart, said that it prioritizes music over personalities.
Chunky Shrapnel was originally set to premiere at Melbourne’s Astor Theatre, before the Australian government closed cinemas nationwide to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The film was eventually released and finally available for 24 hours only on vimeo.
In all, throughout 2020, the band released several live albums, a concert film, a double compilation of demos, K.G. , their 16th studio album and a compilation of early singles and all the tracks on the Anglesea EP called Teenage Gizzard . In August, Eric Moore (the band's second drummer and manager) left the band to focus on running his record label, Flightless. In February 2021, the band released L.W., their third microtonal album, which was followed by the synth-based dream pop album Butterfly 3000 in June. These albums were released independently rather than on Flightless. The band's twentieth studio album, Omnium Gatherum, was released on 22 April 2022.
On 24 January 2023, the band released the official live bootleg Live At Red Rocks '22. The 86-track, eight-hour release documents the band's three-night run at the titular Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Several independent labels have created physical releases of the bootleg, including a 12-vinyl boxset and a CD/cassette run.
On 4 March of the same year, the band debuted a new song "Gila Monster" during a live performance in Tilburg in the Netherlands. Following that, on 7 May, the band announced their upcoming 24th studio album, PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation via Instagram. According to bassist Lucas Harwood, PetroDragonic Apocalypse will be one of two upcoming albums that will have a "Yin and Yang" concept, stating that they are "going to be very different sounding to each other, but we're going to try to make them complement each other". The album's first single, "Gila Monster", was released alongside a music video an hour before the album pre-order opened on May 16 and the second single "Dragon" was released on June 6 with its music video. The band then went on tour throughout the United States to promote the album before its release by playing songs from the album other than the singles. One such performance on 3 June was at the Caverns in Tennessee where the band dressed in drag to celebrate Pride Night after a judge turned down a law that intended to ruled drag unlawful. Joey Walker told the crowd, "This ain't no protest, baby. This is a celebration!" PetroDragonic Apocalypse was released on 16 June.
The band members all grew up and went to school in the Deniliquin, Melbourne and Geelong areas. The band started off as a group of friends jamming together, before a mutual friend asked them to play at a show. The band's name was created "last minute". Mackenzie wanted to name the band "Gizzard Gizzard" while another band member wanted Jim Morrison's nickname "Lizard King". They eventually compromised with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. The artist Jason Galea has created all of the band's album art, and a majority of their music videos.
Crying
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I could smile for a while
But when I saw you last night
You held my hand so tight
When you stopped to say hello
And though you wished me well
You couldn't tell
That I'd been crying over you, crying over you
And left me standing all alone
Alone and crying, crying, crying, crying
It's hard to understand
That the touch of your hand
Can start me crying
I thought that I was over you
But it's true, so true
I love you even more than I did before
But darling, what can I do?
You don't love me
And I'll always be crying over you, crying over you
Yes, now you're gone
And from this moment on
I'll be crying, crying, crying, crying
I'm crying, crying over you
The lyrics of "Crying" by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are about a protagonist who believed they had moved on from their love interest, but the moment they saw them again, their feelings resurfaced. The singer was doing alright and trying to move on from the breakup. They could even smile for a while, but the appearance of the former love interest changed everything. The singer confesses that the touch of their hand still makes them cry, and they realize that they still love them even more than before. However, the subject of the song doesn't love them back, leaving the singer to cry alone. The song also highlights the difficulty of understanding why a simple touch can have such an emotional impact.
The song's interpretation might be subjective as it allows listeners to relate the lyrics to their own experiences. The lyrics illustrate how memories can flood back and how loving someone can be challenging if the person does not reciprocate the feelings. The pain of holding onto a person who doesn't love you back and losing them can be overwhelming, and the song portrays that well.
Line by Line Meaning
I was all right for a while
Initially, I was in a good place
I could smile for a while
I could put on a happy face for some time
But when I saw you last night
However, when I saw you last night
You held my hand so tight
You held my hand in a tight grip
When you stopped to say hello
When you stopped to say hello
And though you wished me well
Even though you wished me well
You couldn't tell
You couldn't tell
That I'd been crying over you, crying over you
That I had been crying over you, crying over you
Then you said so long
Then you said goodbye
And left me standing all alone
And left me standing by myself
Alone and crying, crying, crying, crying
Alone and crying, crying, crying, crying
It's hard to understand
It is difficult to comprehend
That the touch of your hand
That the touch of your hand
Can start me crying
Can make me start crying
I thought that I was over you
I believed that I had moved past you
But it's true, so true
But it is true, indeed
I love you even more than I did before
I love you even more than I did previously
But darling, what can I do?
But my dear, what can I do?
You don't love me
You do not love me
And I'll always be crying over you, crying over you
And I will always be crying over you, crying over you
Yes, now you're gone
Yes, now you are gone
And from this moment on
And from this moment on
I'll be crying, crying, crying, crying
I will be crying, crying, crying, crying
I'm crying, crying over you
I am crying, crying over you
Contributed by Avery F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.