The second and final track of Made In Timeland is “Smoke & Mirrors.” Like “Timeland” before it, the song runs fifteen minutes and explores a wide variety of influences and sounds to a clock-like, sixty-beat-per-minute metronome. Starting with the sound of a gong, we are met with a grand instrumental with a prominent rhythm section featuring a Purdie Shuffle from Cavs. Following this is a breezy section with synthesized harps and distorted drums, leading to a darker section which introduces us to Ambrose's rap persona, Shrimpomaniac. Over a techno beat, he raps about someone who sees themselves above the pain and suffering of others, arguing they deserve a level of accountability. The section also seems to sample a yell from Steve Buscemi found in the 1999 film Big Daddy. An acid house section with heavy percussion and influence from Indian music (note the tabla at 6:52) follows. After that, Cavs goes into a heavy drum break with a steady bass synthesizer played overtop, as well as strange screeching synths and the sound of a whistle. We then get a slowed down reprise of the harp section from earlier, before getting a harder reprise of the techno section heard in “Timeland.” This leads to a slow, calm acoustic section which fades into the final moments of “Smoke & Mirrors.” Shrimpomaniac reappears on top of a beat sampling the Bobby Cook and the Explosions track “Untitled” with a bassline taken from 5:18 of “Timeland.” Here he brings back the topic from before by targeting the “backstabber” once more.
“Smoke & Mirrors” is the more popular of the two Made In Timeland tracks, and it’s the first Gizzard track to feature any sort of true hip-hop influence with the first use of sampling within the discography and the introduction of Shrimpomaniac.
The creation of Made In Timeland hasn’t really been discussed in detail but Stu explained the artistic process in a Reddit AMA: “Timeland was all about vignettes. Each vignette was mostly recorded by one individual member, then brought to the band for overdubs and additional ideas. I had the task of splicing them together into a cohesive piece. Was a fun way to make music.” He also said the idea came from needing something to play during intermissions at their marathon shows. In a drum seminar at Drumtek in Northcote, Victoria, Cavs stated that some of the drums on the album were recorded using an iPhone but did not specify what parts. In the end, Stu (bass/keyboards/synthesizer/percussion/vocals/vocoder/Mellotron), Ambrose/Shrimpomaniac (vocals), Cavs (drums/percussion/synthesizer), Lucas (keyboards/synthesizer/bass/fretless bass) and Joey (synthesizers/percussion) would play on “Smoke & Mirrors.”
While Timeland was kept under wraps by the band, the weirdo swarm had heard of the song since July 13th, 2020, when Reddit user u/theres_yer_problem posted two newly registered songs to the ASCAP ACE Repertory on r/KGATLW. On December 8th, 2021, the album in its entirety was leaked online. While “Timeland” was not different from its official version, “Smoke & Mirrors” ended with a clip heard in a highly-speculated-about Instagram story from sound engineer Nico Wilson. Fans believed this to be part of the album, though it turned out to be Ambrose’s section of the song “Change,” with the footage coming from the shoot for the film Sleeping Monster.
The song appeared in a promotional video for the band’s ultimately postponed Timeland festival titled TIMELAND JUICE on December 19th, 2021. In it, Cavs and Joey drink the titular Timeland Juice and dance around to the “Timeland” reprise in an open field. Interestingly, the version of the song here does not transition into the acoustic section like it does on the final track, allowing us to hear beyond what was put to record.
“Smoke & Mirrors” had its first official public preview at The Return of Curse of Timeland festival on 2022-03-05 where Made In Timeland was first sold. A countdown clock for the song by Jason Galea played between King Gizzard’s first and second set. It was later published on October 12th, 2022 alongside the release of Laminated Denim, and the digital release of Made In Timeland. The “Smoke & Mirrors” countdown clock features a number of references to other Galea projects. A pattern at 9:43 looks similar to the one seen on the cover of Float Along – Fill Your Lungs while a reference to “Cyboogie” can be found within the countdown at 11:07. Graphics from a Butterfly 3000 promotional video (later seen in the ”Butterfly 3000” music video) can also be seen at 2:57. During Shrimpomaniac’s final verse, the breakdancing Ambrose 3D model from the music video for “Straws in the Wind” appears. After The Return of the Curse of Timeland, the countdown clock reappeared at other marathon shows with a final appearance on 2022-10-02.
“Smoke & Mirrors” has never been performed live but it was quoted on 2024-05-16 during “Straws In The Wind.”