King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Murlocs, Sun Angle
Recommended
The new millennium has seen the relatively remote locale of Melbourne, Australia, create its own forefront of groundbreaking underground music. Firebrands like Eddy Current, UV Race, and New War have progressively pushed rock 'n' roll beyond the boundaries of the norm. The newest Aussie sensation to invade American ears is King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, an explosive psych-pop juggernaut that combines Thee Oh Sees' aggressively raw work ethic with the Flaming Lips' visionary shape shifting. Fronting this malevolent maelstrom of sound is the charismatic Stu Mackenzie, whose caveman strums and snarls teeter constantly on the brink of chaos. Intellectual concepts (their newest full-length Nonagon Infinity is an endless Möbius strip of an album) and a legendarily fantastical live show have only fueled the band's meteoric buzz. Judging by their rapidly growing discography, the fountain of creativity is nowhere near tapped. CHRIS SUTTON