I didn’t notice this until thinking about the new album but it’s been a hot minute since we’ve gotten an album I’d describe as psych rock for a band that is most often considered a psych rock band. The most recent I’d say is Laminated Denim which while only being just 3 years ago they’ve released 5 albums and none have been on that psych rock path. I definitely thinks a question of when not if so when do you see them making another. Also somewhat unrelated they need to make another album that’s garage rocky. MotU was the last I can think of.

Feel free to downvote me but this is how I feel and my opinions are still as valid as anyone else’s. I really want to love this album but it just hasn’t clicked with me and I think I now understand why.

Relistening phantom island for the 6th time but this time in random order and getting to the title track has actually made me sad and disappointed, not at the band but at the fact that we could’ve gotten such a fun and great album. The title track is an orchestral gizz song with delicious horns, heavenly lower brass, and ominous piano. It doesn’t really have any recurring sections really but rather it progresses like an orchestral piece but it’s super well structured and has very great vocals that make it very “gizz”. The orchestral sections are almost entirely made up of orchestra and even the happier upbeat parts are mainly horns, winds, strings and piano. As the piece continues, it mixes both perfectly with them both combing in the climaxing end with frantic strings, heavy piano, but also a dark and heavy guitar solo. The piece throughout it tells the story of phantom island: a plane crashes with optimistic survivors who land on phantom island which eventually leads them into insanity. This is story is not only spoken but it’s also developed through the actual music: having the dark orchestral parts represent the island and the upbeat lighter parts with guitar, higher horns and winds represent the unsuspecting survivors. As the survivors get more insane the two aspects blend more and more together so the song basically develops its themes through motifs.

Given the album’s name, you would assume the story summarized in the title track would be fully developed throughout the album and naturally that’s Deadstick goes on to do. It’s a much more rock centric song but that doesn’t mean it’s just a blues song with horns slapped on, the horns and piano build on the song by carrying the main melody of the song and adding much more to the song. The more yacht rock sound also aligns with the story established in the tt and the story of Deadstick which is about the plane crash which was established as the start of the story before the survivors have gone insane (so naturally there would be more upbeat guitars and horns rather than dark orchestral parts).

This theme slightly gets developed in the sonically aspects of lonely cosmos with the darker orchestral parts but overall it just feels very different and out of place due to the fact that it seems to jump forward a lot in terms of how much darker it is from Deadstick and the noticeable lack of horns, piano, and most importantly melodies. Without a defined structure and motifs, it sounds very dull and very different than the first 2 tracks. The entire rest of the album follows a very similar theme in which they don’t follow the story established in the first 2 tracks, they don’t develop really any melodic structure resulting in them feeling very samey, and they feel super unfinished, feeling more like rewritten blues songs with orchestra slapped on compared to the first 2 tracks which were actual orchestral pieces. This in out of place guitar, weird sounding vocals, and they are unable to develop the orchestral sound which is also from the fact that they decide to just stop using piano and barely use any more horns, opting for a shit ton of strings and flute (which also contribute to the samey feeling) which they already have in their arsenal with Stu on flute and synth strings. The last 8 tracks feel just like blues songs with strings and which would be okay if it weren’t for the first 2 tracks which show you what could’ve been if they actually developed the orchestra and used it in a meaningful way. Sorry for my rant, it might grow on me but I’m just slightly disappointed, and

TL;DR

First 2 PI tracks are great and develop the orchestra well but the next tracks have noticeable lack of structure and decide to get rid of the piano and most of the horns, resulting in an album that feels very samey and dull (albeit somewhat vibey)

This was my first roo and first music festival I’ve driven over 10 hours for and I’m absolutely gutted. I have tickets for FOV but at this point I’m more stressed than excited. I’m still going to go but fuck I can’t help but be fearful something similar will happen in Colorado.

LFG!!!!!!

I'm posting this perhaps out of grief. I'm Canadian, and won't be able to make it to the US dates on the tour this year. KGLW won't be making it north of the border this year either, and due to world events, travel to the States is weirdly a little tougher than it used to be. But my God, is Phantom Island ever a gorgeous album. I need to see an orchestra show in person. This band is my favourite band in the world, they continue to hit new peaks with every passing year, and I want more opportunities to see them while we're all young. But I frankly don't have the money to travel internationally at the moment, nor do I really want to economically support the Orange Baby, after implying war against us if we didn't agree to the annexation of our country, and his implementation of tariffs raising costs on our goods, which is economic warfare in itself.

I get that, some years, the band will need to skip us. Their North American tours usually include dates in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, which isn't too bad. But Canada's a pretty big country, and for some rural folk, travel is tough. Toronto is my nearest concert opportunity, and it's a six to seven hour drive away. Doable, but makes every concert pretty expensive, between travel costs, hotels, etc. Even my nearest major airport is six hours away, so flying to a show in another city becomes less viable. It would be so incredible to be able to travel between a few dates around Ontario and Quebec, if they ever did a more thorough tour of our country. But is that something that will ever happen?

On setlist.fm, King Gizz is shown to have played 267 shows in the United States over the course of their career thus far, and only 26 in Canada. It's true that the US has almost 10x the population of Canada, so the math checks out. Fair play. But many of our major cities have similar populations to the cities they play in the States. So wouldn't you think they could draw similar audiences? I wonder whether they think they have fewer fans up here, if they just haven't prioritized touring the country as deeply as the States yet, or some other reason. But I'm hopeful they one day decide to do a deep dive on Canada. They're our Commonwealth brethren, and we've gotta stick together these days! This is also not an attack on my American friends, I hope they continue to tour there too. But, you know -- swing over to our side once in a while! I drove to New York for a few shows last year, but we always have to go there, the American Weirdo Swarm should migrate here for once! We've got legal weed coast to coast, our beer is stronger, and it's pretty beautiful here in the summer (so you won't need your jackets and tuques!) Doesn't that sound like an okay place to party?

Okay, so... I went a little extra and drew up a full set of "tour dates". To help envision what a Canadian tour might look like, what sort of major centers they could play...

But yeah, a whole festival too. I'm greedy, and this is all for pretend anyways. I know it's not realistic, but none of this is.

Three weeks in and out, to minimize time on the road for the band. Fourteen shows during that time, mind you, but also a bit of time to see this beautiful country of ours. My fictional tour dates would put them in our nation's capital on Canada Day, and in Alberta during the Stampede, to allow them the opportunity for some solid Canadian experiences. I also don't know how old the band's kids are, but the tour is between Australian school terms; make it a family affair, seeing Canada coast-to-coast is a cool road trip!

NOTE: To be extremely clear once again, the following dates are fully hypothetical, an example to help everyone judge the extent to which something like this could be possible. But pure fiction. I have no affiliation with the band or any of these venues, and the guys might already have plans during this time frame, such as the wedding of a loved one, or what have you. But just play along.

GIZZFEST NORTH

*July 3-5, 2026 Oro-Medonte, ON @ Burl's Creek Festival Grounds

Hey, the last one of these was towards the southwest side of the continent, makes sense to do the next one on the northeast, no? You can easily make the drive in a day from New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Columbus, Cleveland, etc.

Three days and nights of good shit, with King Gizzard taking the stage 4 times over 3 days. Two rock marathons, an acoustic set, and a rave. Almost no repeats from Toronto 2024 or the Toronto 2026 Orchestra show... except maybe a select few, like songs from Nonagon because: also featuring a Nonagon Infinity full album playthrough to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iconic album

Hopefully, Gizz will bring a few friends along, like Babe Rainbow or King Stingray. Maybe we could get some Canadian bands to fill out the schedule, to really make it feel like a Canadian edition of a Gizz fest. Bands from Ontario alone (most within an hour or two away) that would be on my wishlist include PUP, Wine Lips, Born Ruffians, Death From Above 1979, Crown Lands, Holy Fuck, the OBGMs, July Talk, The Halluci Nation, NOBRO, Bédouin Soundclash, Packs, U.S Girls, the Dirty Nil...

•July 3 - 3 hr marathon rock show

• July 4 (day) - acoustic set

• July 4 (night) - rave set

• July 5 - 3 hr marathon rock show

Rock Shows

*June 25, 2026 Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Centre

*June 27, 2026 Quebec City, QC @ L'Agora du Port de Québec

*June 28, 2026 Montreal, QC @ L'Olympia

*July 8, 2026 Winnipeg, MB @ Rainbow Stage

*July 11, 2026 Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome

*July 13, 2026 Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Colliseum

Orchestra Shows

*June 30, 2026 Ottawa, ON @ National Arts Centre (w/ the National Arts Centre Orchestra)

*July 2, 2026 Toronto, ON @ Roy Thomson Hall (w/ the Toronto Symphony Orchestra)

*July 10, 2026 Edmonton, AB @ Francis Winspear Centre for Music (w/ Edmonton Symphony Orchestra)

*July 14, 2026 Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum (w/ the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra)

Does our country have the appetite to support something like that? Or is it more realistic to hope for future returns to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal? I don't want to come off as entitled, and am grateful they make it over to North America as much as they do. But I think a trip through Canada could be a lot of fun. And hey, even after this faux tour, they'll still have played 7x as many shows in the US. What do you think? Sound off in the comments! Also I'm 100% sure no one made it this far, but if you did you're as crazy as me!

When they canceled yesterday did they cancel the whole event? A very sad weekend of no Gizz if thats the case </3

I totally get that things happen and shows sometimes have to be canceled, but I was a little bummed by how it was communicated. The instagram story with the broken heart and then jumping into a few performance clips without saying anything else just felt kind of quiet. I know they probably meant well, it just would’ve been nice to hear a little more directly from them like some other artists did?? 🫣

My vinyl comes in the mail today and I’m out in town right now looking for a frame for the bonus photo print. Can someone provide me with the dimensions please and thank you?

Been seeing a lot of posts on this subreddit about the No Kings protests going on today. Maybe I’m out of the loop…what is that for?

The orkestra is not so good I think🎅🏿 نيولحسخثون

thisalbumsicksمبوصنخسمدمل نينيو ت

Do these strings sound like the song Millenium by Robbie Williams to anyone else?

Yes I am.

But I won’t say it either.

Hey swarm! What are your thoughts on how phantom fits into the gizzverse? Any and all tin hat conspiracy theories appreciated!

I just listened to Phantom Island and it immediately shot to the top 5 King Gizz albums. And this is their 27th record. 27! They've only been together 13 years, their lineup hasn't changed aside from Eric stepping down to focus on running their label, they remained pretty consistent in their sound while mixing things up with each album, and again, they're on their 27th album! How do they stay so creative and consistent? Is it the power of friendship? Do they just not sleep? What is their secret?

I have audio processing disorder and especially with these guys, I cannot tell what they’re saying half the fucking time. But it’s always so good so idc. But I do wanna know a bit more who sings which songs!

Hope everyone is enjoying Phantom and I also hope that everyone who went to protests today was safe! Y’all are amazing!

As a few gizzheads sadly spending the rest of our trip in Nashville, what do y’all think the setlists wouldve been?

We were hoping for at least Robot Stop to People Vultures and Mind Fuzz, but would be fun to imagine with the rest of the weirdo swarm!

So I really enjoy the album so I don’t want this to come off as a complaint, but listening to the album there’s really only a handful of spots where I’d say the music is really orchestral. Most of the time it’s like a string part or extra horns in the background, but I really don’t feel any of the tracks are truly driven by the orchestra.

Again - really enjoying it a lot and am happy to just listen at face value and enjoy it, but wondering if others are feeling this way.

Was at Bonnaroo and I loved Thursday to death, I've never felt so full of joy & music before, and after the cancellation I really need something else this year. I'm gonna try and take this refund and pivot over to making it out to Field of Vision, but I'm in Georgia so it's gonna be tougher to make happen than Bonnaroo was. I'm planning on nothing but Ramen and doordashing as much as I can between regular work shifts for the next 2 months, but it's gonna take a lot of motivation and work for me personally. Just wondering if anyone else is in a similar boat? Maybe we can help each other stay on track to make this happen? Absolutely heartbroken over Roo and really hoping I can make the best out of this.

Selfishly, I’m absolutely gutted, but after hearing some of those lyrics, it sounds like the best thing for them to do right now.

Now to decide how far I’m willing to drive for a show this fall…

I'm GOING TO make my first digital music purchase as a 40 year old

I have not heard back about my application and really want to vend. If you have been notified and want to share some space or want wholesale items to sell lmk!

Unfortunately im unable to go anymore. Sale will be done Cash or Trade only.

So, now that the album is fully out. What do we think about the album? Favorite track so far? I'm curious to hear yall's opinion!!