''Dead Slow'' is the debut studio album by

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

psych-pop band

Heavy Moss Heavy Moss is an Australian psych-pop quartet led by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard bassist Lucas Harwood alongside Sam Ingles, Kyle Tickell, and Bec Goring. History Foundation Heavy Moss was formed due to a "spontaneous reunion" between Lu ...

, released on November 22, 2024.

Development

Heavy Moss' debut album, the band was formed in late 2022 after Lucas Harwood and Sam Ingles reconnected in their hometown of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. Both had previously played in a

Surf rock Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...

band named

Atolls An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most of ...

from 2011 to 2014. Most of the band's music is from a back catalog of unused song ideas made by Harwood which didn't mesh with the style of the other band he was in, ''

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (KGLW) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie (vocals, guitar), Ambrose Kenny-Smith (vocals, harmonica, keyboards), Coo ...

''. While Harwood and Ingles work-shopped these old songs, they also brought in Kyle Tickell, a dreampop veteran, and Bec Goring with a background in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, to complete the band's lineup. In the buildup to the albums release, two songs;

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

and Treadmills, would be released as

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. The songs were written by Lucas Harwood and Kyle Tickell, with Tickell making more "jangly pop" songs, while Harwood took influence from the 1960s. Tickell claims that he came up with the melody for "Star" while rushing back to his friends house in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

that he left his wallet in and that "It was just beamed down to me." Tickell's songs included nods to the

Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

, while Harwood's influences were "in the spirit of"

Elephant 6 The Elephant 6 Recording Company is a loosely defined musical collective from the United States. Notable bands associated with the collective include The Apples in Stereo, Beulah, Circulatory System, Elf Power, The Minders, Neutral Milk Hotel, ...

. Sam Ingles wrote the song "Melt" as a nod to early psych pop from The Black Angels and

Dead Meadow Dead Meadow is an American psychedelic rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1998 and currently composed of vocalist and guitarist Jason Simon and drummer Mark Laughlin. The band have released seven studio albums, two live albums, and a Peel ...

. Harwood had the album recorded in the headquarters of ''King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard'', and stated that his band-mate

Stu Mackenzie Stuart Douglas Mackenzie (born 26 October 1990) is an Australian musician best known as the frontman of rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. He serves as singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist for the band and is recognized as its le ...

"really gave me confidence to make some drastic sonic decisions" and that Stu "helped find that flow socially throughout the whole song." Lucas and Stu would mix half the album while on the

World Tour 2024 King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's World Tour 2024 was a concert tour of South America, Europe and North America. It began on 14 March 2024, in Santiago, Chile at Teatro Coliseo and concluded on 21 November 2024 at Factory Town near Miami, Flo ...

. The album would be released under the P(doom) Records label.

Reception

''The Fire Note'' described the album as "shimmering melodies with an earthy, rhythmic backbone... contributing to an overall chill and warm, swaying vibe" comparing the music to

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American indie rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three studio albums: '' Today'' (1988), '' On Fire'' (1989), and '' This Is Our Music'' (1990). The band membership comprised guitarist and v ...

Spacemen 3 Spacemen 3 were an English rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "trance-like neo-psyched ...

My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Kos ...

, and

Strand of Oaks Strand of Oaks is the rock project by songwriter and producer Timothy Showalter (born July 20, 1982). Originally from Indiana, he currently resides in Austin, Texas. His music has been classified as Rock music, rock and folk music, folk, as well a ...

. ''The Fire Note'' claimed the songs "Star", "Treadmills", and "Blutac" were the strongest, showcasing the range of the band from "Star" showcasing their originality, "Treadmills" delivering a "King Gizzard-inspired psych vibe" and "Blutac" being more rock-heavy.

Track listing

Personnel

Heavy Moss * Lucas Harwood — keyboards (all tracks), vocals (1-3, 5-7), guitar (1, 3) * Kyle Tickell — guitar, vocals (all tracks), synthesizer (1), keyboards (5) * Bec Goring — bass guitar (all tracks), vocals (1, 4-7), guitar (1, 6) * Sam Ingles — drums, percussion (all tracks), vocals (1, 7), synthesizer (1), keyboards (7, 8) Production * Heavy Moss — production, recording * Stu Mackenzie — mixing (1, 2, 4, 5) * Michael Badger — mixing (3, 6-8) * Joe Carra — mastering * Sam Ingles — cover art, design, layout * Sonny Witton — photography

References

{{Heavy Moss 2024 debut albums Heavy Moss albums