King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Phantom Island

Critic's Take

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's Phantom Island feels like a weary, beautifully arranged confessional, where standouts such as “Silent Spirit” and “Grow Wings and Fly” show how orchestration can amplify homesick lyricism. Isabel Glasgow writes with a fond, observant tone, noting how strings and horns turn songs into balm without entirely erasing grit or doubt. The review foregrounds the band's softer, friendlier moments and singles out “Silent Spirit” for emotional weight and “Grow Wings and Fly” for euphoric payoff, presenting the best songs on Phantom Island as quietly triumphant and intimately human.

Key Points

• The best song is "Silent Spirit" for its emotional weight and effective orchestration.
• The album's core strengths are intimate lyricism and orchestral arrangements that amplify homesick themes.

Themes

Critic's Take

The Record Collector voice here relishes how King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard reinvent pieces on Phantom Island, singling out its most triumphant moments. The title track is painted as Stu Mackenzie’s paranoid thoughts given a 70s cinematic funk-disco sweep, and tracks like "Deadstick" and "Grow Wings And Fly" are noted for brassy vim and jubilant uplift respectively. The reviewer emphasizes sumptuous yearning in "Eternal Return" and weightless jazz-flute in "Sea Of Doubt", arguing the orchestration makes this an emphatic leap ahead. In short, the best songs on Phantom Island are the ones where orchestral color elevates melody into genuine uplift.

Key Points

• The title track is best because its orchestration transforms paranoid intuition into 70s cinematic funk-disco.
• The album’s core strength is its orchestral arrangements that expand and elevate previously retro-rock material.

Themes

Critic's Take

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard wear their sun-drenched, horn-led funk proudly on Phantom Island, and the best tracks - notably “Phantom Island” and “Deadstick” - encapsulate that breezy, cinematic swagger. The reviewer revels in the way string swells and brass lift moments like “Phantom Island” into orchestral fanfare while calling “Deadstick” a standout summer groove and dance banger. Throughout, the band’s knack for embracing genres without losing cohesion makes the best songs feel effortless, layered, and designed for warm afternoons. This is King Gizz at their best: precise, progressive, and irresistibly fun.

Key Points

• The best song(s) shine through orchestration and horn-led funk that create cinematic summer grooves.
• The album’s core strengths are genre-blending arrangements, detailed orchestration, and an upbeat, summery vibe.

Themes

Critic's Take

Over a sprawling career King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard lean into maximalism on Phantom Island, and the best songs - notably “Phantom Limbs (Interlude)” opener energy in the title-track and the propulsive “Aerodynamic” - show the orchestra amplifying their strengths with clarity and bite. Ethan Reis writes with that knowing fan’s mixture of affection and impatience, praising the lush strings and trumpets while grumbling at clumsy lyrics, so the best tracks on Phantom Island are the ones that let the band shred around the arrangements rather than drown in saccharine optimism. The result is a beautiful, sometimes lyrically-missed record that should translate thrillingly to the live, orchestra-backed stage.

Key Points

• The title-track and propulsive guitar-led songs are the best because the orchestra amplifies the band’s maximalism without smothering it.
• The album’s core strengths are its orchestration, dynamic arrangements, and optimistic tonal center, though lyrics sometimes undercut songs.

Themes

Critic's Take

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Phantom Island often feels overstuffed, yet its best moments - notably “Spacesick” and “Aerodynamic” - sparkle with genuine magic. The reviewer’s tone is admiring but measured, celebrating how strings and horns lift songs like “Spacesick” into widescreen while lamenting when arrangements distract. Read as a patchwork of experiments, the album’s best tracks retain focus and melody, which is why queries about the best songs on Phantom Island should point first to “Spacesick” and then to “Aerodynamic” and “Panpsych”.

Key Points

• “Spacesick” is the best song because it maintains focus, balances ambition and melody, and opens into widescreen with horns and strings.
• The album’s core strength is adventurous orchestral experimentation that yields occasional, vivid moments of coherence and magic.

Themes

Critic's Take

Hi, everyone. Workthony Outtano here, and on Phantom Island I found the best songs to be the propulsive closer and the irrepressible “Deadstick” - the latter is genuinely one of the catchiest and most fun songs King Lizard has ever recorded. The record often pairs dramatic strings with twangy roots-rock, and when it clicks - as on “Deadstick” and the closing krautrock-infused number - the results are thrilling. But much of the album is held back by meandering, talk-sung lyrics that undermine otherwise strong arrangements, so the best tracks stand out precisely because they balance melody, groove, and the orchestral touches more successfully.

Key Points

• The best song is the horn-laden, irresistibly catchy "Deadstick", which balances melody, groove, and orchestration.
• The album's core strengths are adventurous orchestral arrangements and roots-rock grooves, but meandering lyrics often undercut immediacy.

Themes

Critic's Take

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard arrive on Phantom Island sounding like a band reimagining baroque pop with a full orchestra, and it works better than a simple charm. The review revels in their inventiveness and the album’s modern baroque sweep, positioning tracks such as “Daydreams” and “In Heaven” as highlights in a record that refuses to play safe. The tone is admiring and a little bemused by their prolificacy, yet clear-eyed about how these lush arrangements become quintessential King Gizzard - uncanny, ornate and thrilling. If you search for the best songs on Phantom Island, the record points to those orchestral centerpieces as its clearest triumphs.

Key Points

• Orchestral, baroque-leaning tracks like "Daydreams" emerge as the album's best for their lush arrangements.
• The album's core strength is inventiveness and successful genre-bending into modern baroque pop with full orchestration.

Themes

Critic's Take

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's Phantom Island is cast as a gleeful reinvention that leans into jazz and baroque-pop textures, with the title track and “Silent Spirit” singled out as highlights. The reviewer paints the title track as a "folly-fuelled, jazz-laden jaunt" that blossoms into orchestral power, and praises “Silent Spirit” as a standout that meanders into a tripped-out joyride. There is also a throughline of tenderness, likened to their Paper Mâché Dream Balloon era, especially suggested by the loveliness of “Lonely Cosmos”. Overall, the piece frames the record as a joyous, ten-track delight arriving just in time for summer.

Key Points

• The best song is praised for its adventurous genre-melding and was called a standout that becomes a tripped-out joyride.
• The album's core strengths are reinvention, jazz and baroque-pop inflections, and a tender throughline recalling past work.

Themes

Critic's Take

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard lean into orchestral pomp on Phantom Island, and the review makes clear the best songs are those that erupt with brass and color. The reviewer highlights the album openers - the title track and “Deadstick” - as volcanic, blaring statements, while moments like “Sea of Doubt” and “Lonely Cosmos” offer dreamy respite and groovy self-analysis. The writing is admiring and celebratory, pitching Phantom Island as accessible, stadium-sized, and full of small universes worth getting lost in.

Key Points

• The best song moments are the brassy, orchestral openers that act like volcanic eruptions and define the album's new direction.
• The album's core strengths are genre-morphing orchestration, accessible songwriting, and a whimsical, colorful tone.

Themes

Critic's Take

In this review Aimee Ferrier hears King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard moving fully into musical-theatre territory on Phantom Island, and she singles out moments like “Silent Spirit” and “Grow Wings and Fly” as the record’s best tracks. Ferrier praises the tight musicianship and a few standout riffs, but repeatedly flags the album’s theatrical flourishes as occasionally corny and ill-fitting. Her tone remains wry and measured: she admires the craft yet worries the symphonic touches and cheesy ’70s callbacks will alienate long-term fans. The review answers searches for the best songs on Phantom Island by highlighting “Silent Spirit” and “Grow Wings and Fly” as high points amid an uneven, ambitious record.

Key Points

• Silent Spirit is best because its guitars and instrumental layering showcase the band’s strengths.
• The album’s core strength is ambitious theatricality and tight musicianship, but orchestration and corniness undermine cohesion.

Themes

Critic's Take

Oscar Lund finds the best songs on Phantom Island to be bold and character-driven: “Deadstick” stands out for its catchy refrain and momentum, while “Sea of Doubt” wins on emotional resilience. Lund praises KGLW's orchestral rock touches and singles out the album title track “Phantom Island” as essential listening. The review frames these highlights amidst experimentation that hits more than it misses, making these the best tracks on Phantom Island for listeners seeking adventurous, story-led songs.

Key Points

• The best song is memorable storytelling paired with catchy hooks, exemplified by "Deadstick".
• The album's core strengths are narrative character vignettes and orchestral rock experimentation that largely succeed.

Themes