The most immediately-notable thing about King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is their name, one that conjures equal feelings of humor and pretense. The second thing is their discography. The band is known for releasing multiple albums a year, with as many as five in 2017. With a discography so vast, who has time to listen to everything this band has to offer? I don’t. But you don’t either. So once again, I’m putting in my community service hours to see if, out of this band’s 200+ albums, you should spend time checking out Butterfly 3000.

Unlike for Van Weezer, I have just eaten a healthy order of God’s chicken and am coming off the cusp of a delightful conversation with a friend. I’m lightly excited to dive in, even in the midst of chronic fatigue and the looming hundreds of wedding photos I need to edit yet. Here goes nothing.

“Yours” is synthy and ethereal. I thought this was a stoner type band, but this song is mildly electro-pop with vocals that remind me of Mew. Honestly, if Mew isn’t going to do anything new, I’ll take what I can get. This acoustic guitar break part is pretty cool, and some of the synth “whoops” are fun. There’s a bit of a Radiohead mood here, too. This might be pretty poppy, but it’s certainly not lazy or generic songwriting. So far, so good.

Several ads later, “Shanghai” opens up. I guess it’s pentatonic? Sufjan Stevens-esque vocals pair with weaving synths and a sensual groove. There’s a lot of falsetto, too. This new Portugal. The Man song sounds incredible. There are a few layered vocal parts which are cool. But I guess the main thing is the synthesizer lines trying to sound oriental, for better or for worse.

“Dreams” is a bit faster but seems to carry the energy of its predecessor, even with an extended synth into. This track quickly loses itself to repetition, both of vocal parts and the same synth line. Things dissolve into a bit of chaos mid-track, but frankly there isn’t too much going on here I can for. I find myself checking how far I’m into the track in the off-chance an unexpected turn is coming, but alas, it does not. “Dreams” is a bit of a dud.

“Blue Morpho” feels a bit dissonant vocally. The synth loops at this point are getting a bit tiring, but the drumming and some additional keys are refreshing. I’m still not entirely sure what’s going on. This is definitely a disorienting release of sorts. I don’t know what a blue morpho is, so I look it up. It’s a species of butterfly.

Before I have time to dig deeper, harpsichord ushers in “Interior People”. So far, the synth loops are less prominent which is a welcome change. Vocals here feel disco-adjacent. All things considered, this feels like one of the more organic tracks, albeit a bit psychedelic to boot. While the tracks continues on, I browse images of blue morphos. They’re solid blue – nothing too exciting. Hopefully the album can exceed the appeal of this insect. Are butterflies insects? I sure hope so, because boy, would I feel dumb if they aren’t after spending all this time. Back to “Interior People” – there was a line about “lens flare in my subconscious”. As a photographer, I’m mildly intrigued. The track still hasn’t devolved into a sea of synthesizers even at its end so I’ll give it a thumb up.

Spotify sure is trigger-happy with the ads. I take a moment to check my 35 open tabs. Nothing interesting. I was supposed to have a delivery today, but given it’s already 9 at night, my guess is that’s not happening. A truck is blasing music that is causing things to shake in my apartment.

“Catching Smoke” resumes the synth looping, but this time, layers build subtly. For the most part, I like the loop here, and there’s enough rhythmic interest with claps and punchy drums to keep energy high. It sort of feels like a song girls from my high school would have been into with its fast pace and overt sass. I guess it feels a bit classic to both chillwave and scene. But it ain’t a crime to have a good time and I’ll vouch for this song more than “Dreams” any day. I’ve realized I’m only halfway through, with this track toping six minutes and there’s a nice-albeit-brief change in the media. As some of the instrumentals pull back, I can actually make out the lyrics more clearly. “Ephemeral” is one of my favorite words, so that’s another plus for this track.

More synths and androgynous vocals await on “2.02 Killer Year”, but you already knew that. What you weren’t expecting was the arcade laser sound effect. There are some guest vocals here, but the person is unattributed on the song. Ultimately, it sort of feels like a Group Love song. I guess listening to radio now and then pays off so I’m not stuck comparing everything to Underwater Basket Weaving Club.

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“Black Hot Soup” immediately feels psychedelic. But more importantly, its title reminds me of Gorons and the underworld in Oracle of Seasons which is covered in lava. I know lava isn’t black, but hey, it’s 9:20 and I’m fried. The backing vocals chanting “Blaaaaaack hoooot soooooup” are a nice ornament on this track, and once again, there isn’t as much reliance on synth loops. It’s definitely an outlier but there’s only so much I can handle of parts which tire quickly. At this point, I realize I need a featured image for this article and pull up the band’s Facebook. They’re younger than I’m expecting. While I grab the album cover, the song ends on one of the most interesting outros of the album. Its worth noting I THINK this album is seamless. If I didn’t get ads every minute, I’d know for sure.

“Ya Love” is summery and upbeat, complete with powerful drumming. While some of the synth-heavy tracks on the front half of the album were enchanting, I’m glad to see the band didn’t rely too much on one trick for the whole release. This feels like a bit of a chaotic beach rock song and I’m for it. I could do without the senseless repetition of the lyrics “Ya love” over and over, but ultimately this feels like a noir take on “Rock Lobster” to some degree which is such a unique vibe.

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The title track is last up. It’s been a bit, but the synth loops are back on this one, completely with whispery vocals floating over. It feels like it’ll build quickly at a glance. However, given its brief runtime, I’m not sure. Arpeggios enter in and vocals firm up a bit. Percussion eases in. There’s less than a minute left – if there’s a big end, it has to be soon. Ah, there it is – glitchy drums and synths with soaring vocals. I do feel a bit robbed ultimately given the brevity of this crescendo, as well as the closing track in general.

Ultimately, Butterfly 3000 is a quirky and disorienting album. It feels undeniably familiar but also completely confusing all at once. I didn’t find myself getting distracted or bored as much as a bit annoyed by some more repetitive parts. But I came in expecting something much different from a band known for albums like “Flying Microtonal Banana”. This is pleasantly middle-of-the-road dreamy pop, and it benefits and suffers from what you’d expect from the genre. At a first listen, the second half of the album is stronger, making the experience less of a chore. I think of Sufjan’s The Ascension and everything about it that bored me, and thankfully this album avoids those cardinal sins easily. The biggest drawback definitely comes from some of the looped parts, but this is mostly limited to the first several songs.

Should you check this album out? I think so. “Yours” is a good base for the more electronic side of the album, while “Black Hot Soup” epitomizes the more psychedelic side of things. If you can’t catch all 151 of this band’s albums, at least give this one a spin.

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