Teenage Gizzard is a compilation album by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard released on 24 December, 2020. It compiles the earliest known recordings by the band from 2010 and 2011. This is also the first official release of their debut EP Anglesea as well as their first two singles ("Hey There" / "Ants & Bats" and "Sleep" / "Summer!") and an unreleased song. The album was exclusively released as a bootleg on Bandcamp and on vinyl.[1][2][3]
Background
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard started off as an informal jam band, with the eventual lineup becoming Mackenzie, Walker, Moore, Kenny-Smith, Cavanagh, Craig and Harwood. Ambrose Kenny-Smith entered the band in 2011, and is absent from most of the early recordings of the band.[4][5] The band's first releases were two singles in 2010 – "Hey There" / "Ants & Bats" and "Sleep" / "Summer!" – and both were self-released. The band's next release, 2011's Anglesea, was released as a four-track EP on CD. It is named after Anglesea, the coastal town where Mackenzie grew up (as well as the town where they lost a battle of the bands to punk rockers Hole in the Shoe). These early releases did not become available digitally until the inclusion of their tracks on the Teenage Gizzard compilation.[6]
Reception
Written by ThePsychRock, the review enjoyed the album giving it a 8.6/10. They described the album as "a banger with high energy rock the whole way through. The music feels wholesome and joyful with creative songs". They also noted how the songwriting is more stripped back and basic than later releases. They described the music as being "surfy", "psyched out", and "lo-fi".[7]
