Song history written by TimelandIsWacky
If you look at old maps, especially those older than the 1900s, you may notice a number of islands that don’t exist. These are called phantom islands. Some are noted due to miscommunications between cartographers and explorers, as with Pepys Island, while some like Antillia were spawned from ancient legend. Others like Croker Land were made up for fame and fortune. Whatever the case may be, these islands have been a source of fascination for explorers and historians alike, and King Gizzard dedicated a song to these odd footnotes.
“Phantom Island” was the first single from the album of the same name and was their first song to utilize an orchestra. The lyrics (sung by Stu, Cook and Ambrose) speak of someone who sees an island in their dreams and decides to travel there. They believe that their journey could be their destiny, however they also believe they’re losing their sanity as they embark towards the imagined destination, hearing laughter in the trees and hyper-analyzing the world around them. They seem to find the island they were seeking after twelve years of searching but their paranoia gets the best of them as they envision mythological gods and creatures watching over the land, leading the explorer to retreat.
The song ties back into the band’s previous album Flight b741 by continuing the album’s horse imagery, while also reusing the phrase “cut the cord” and mentioning the Egyptian god Set, both of which featured prominently on The Silver Cord. The track also mentions Typhon, a monster from Greek mythology who has sometimes been compared to Set despite differences in story and appearance. Besides these references, the story has similarities to “The Last Oasis,” “Magenta Mountain” and “Mirage City.”
Stu’s recollection of the track’s creation is vague. He said to World Cafe before the album’s release that he thought it was the first the band worked on for the project. He also mentioned that it would most likely be the opener because it makes thematic sense and incorporates all of the different vibes of the album, even calling it an “overture” for the record. That said, we do have a demo for the song. It was shared by Jason Galea in a time lapse video showing how the Phantom Island album cover was designed. The demo is nearly six minutes in length with numerous differences including a lower key (half step down compared to the studio version), a faster tempo, and more improvisation.
While unconfirmed, it appears that they recorded the song in the demo’s key and at a slower pace but sped it up for the final version – thereby pitching it up a half step (similarly to “Mirage City”). The entire band shows up on the final recording: Ambrose (piano/vocals), Cavs (drums/percussion), Cook (bass/Mellotron/vocals), Joey (bass/guitar), Lucas (bass), and Stu (bass/guitar/Mellotron/organ/piano/vocals). Each member also received songwriting credits. An extended version of the song’s intro appears at the end of The Making of Phantom Island.
The title track was first heard when it was released as a single on October 29th, 2024. It was dropped alongside the announcement of their then incomplete twenty-seventh album, the Field of Vision festival, and the band’s 2025 Phantom Island US tour. The phrase “coconut congas” heard in the lyrics was used as a pre-sale code for said tour. “Phantom Island” was released again as the digital b-side for “Deadstick” before Phantom Island dropped on June 13th. The island itself is illustrated on the album’s cover artwork, which also references the “sixteen horses galloping” line from the song’s lyrics.
The first hint of the track on stage occurred during a performance of “Boogieman Sam” at the Arizona Financial Theatre on 2024-11-09 – appearing during a “People-Vultures” jam at the end. It would appear two other times that year on 2024-11-12 and 2024-11-15 during “Straws In The Wind” The quotes continued during the 2025 European residency tour though they were mostly heard at the Lycabettus Theatre in Athens from 2025-06-04 to 2025-06-06.