Australian psych-rockers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have never shied away from the quirky and adventurous. Following the release of their 18th studio album Butterfly 3000, King Gizz took a literal approach to the album’s visuals, such as the trippy, Hayao Miyazaki-inspired video for “Interior People.” Today (July 26), the band shares the visual for “Catching Smoke,” which forgoes animation in favor of the band’s literal transformation into happy, eyebrow-less butterflies.
The video begins in a dim performance space with singer and lead guitarist Stu Mackenzie embraced in a cocoon costume. After a moment of darkness, the band emerges in brilliantly cheesy butterfly costumes, accompanied by dancers. Mackenzie explains that “’Catching Smoke’ is about chasing the feeling that’s impossible to catch. You’ll never get your hands on it, but you’re gonna try anyway … ”
In a statement, director Danny Cohen explains his approach:
Here’s a clip that might feel like the past, or the future, maybe both, the present? It’s set wherever you want it to be, whenever too, in a time that’s everyone’s. It’s a story of a fleeting fleet, straying the course to inhabit their inner instinctual insect, I think. Or maybe it’s precisely what it is, Sgt. Pepper’s Bug’s Life Matrix Band but more fun.
Below, watch the video for “Catching Smoke” and scroll further down to revisit King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s 2015 Daytrotter session.
