King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Awesomely named Aussie psych-rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard channels elements of the vintage Smiley Smile, The Hurdy Gurdy Man, and The Village Green Preservation Society LPs by the Beach Boys, Donovan, and The Kinks, respectively, for their latest endeavor. It’s a patchouli-powered, pastoral twee-pop piñata of an album waiting to burst open. Melodic and tuneful almost to a fault, the band impresses with its deft use of acoustic guitars, flutes, sitar, mandolin, and other assorted instruments. “Dirt” has a chirpy yet melancholic Belle and Sebastian sensibility, while “Trapdoor” sounds like Cab Calloway on a bad trip. Elsewhere, Canned Heat’s “On the Road Again” is morphed into the woozily bluesy “The Bitter Boogie.” This disc is mellow gold!