Fishing For Fishies is a boogie/blues-rock album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (KGLW). The album tells several stories both directly and indirectly related to the environment via the nine songs featured on it. Topics include overfishing, animal cruelty, and the overuse of plastic. The album cover shows a robot farmer fishing while being surrounded by fire and smoke (even the fishing pole is on fire). This image serves as an introduction to the bleak retro-futurism found within the lyrics of the album.
Music is a storytelling medium that has lasted through the ages, due to its memorability, conciseness, and its incredible ability to compel emotion. Additionally, the advent of streaming platforms has led to albums being instantly shareable for free. Fishing For Fishies takes a lighthearted approach to serious issues, often creating a contrast between the lyrically bleak environmental messaging and the upbeat tone of the music. This is showcased by the title track, in which a person is expressing their dislike of fishing due to empathizing with the fish, yet continuing to fish due to being hungry. A selection and explanation of climate-conscious songs on the album: The song Plastic Boogie offers a clever commentary on humanity’s overuse and over-reliance on single-use plastics. Real’s Not Real points a finger at Australian media, which according to the song often paints an over-optimistic picture that the world is doing great, lulling people into a false sense of security regarding environmental issues. Finally, Acarine is about the Acarine disease in bees which causes them suffering and painful death.