Heavy Moss – “Star” [Video]

Heavy Moss, formed in late 2022, is a psych-pop quartet hailing from Geelong, Australia, featuring the seasoned line up of Lucas Harwood (King Gizzard), Sam Ingles, Kyle Tickell and Bec Goring. With a unique blend of dynamic psychedelia and dreamy pop textures, the group is set to release their debut LP Dead Slow on November 22nd.

Today, Heavy Moss gives us the first taste of Dead Slow, sharing the single “Star” and it’s lo-fi-sci-fi music video. The track draws you in with a mellow groove, weaving together keys and fuzzy guitar, before pouring into five minutes of lush, melodic dreampop. Nodding to Real Estate and My Morning Jacket along the way, the tune winds towards its cosmic instrumental outro.

Kyle Tickell recalls, “I left my wallet at my friends house in Berlin. So I rushed back to get it. On my way, the verse melody popped into my head, so I recorded it into my phone as I walked through the suburbs. It was just beamed down to me…”

“Star” is shared alongside a beautifully shot music video that mirrors the winding melodic trajectory, with the band hatching a conspiratorial plot to make contact with two black-eyed aliens by branding their patch of earth in the shape of a star. Written and directed by band member Kyle Tickell, he explains that the concept for the video “falls out of this need for something bigger that breaks the monotony, and the lengths people will go to do so, even if what’s around them is really quite okay.” He elaborates, “Star’s lyrics are supposed to be a conversation between a couple. They are call/answer, where one person is content, and grounded, but the other wants more, with no plan on how to get it.”

“When Heavy Moss approached me to shoot their music video, they had me at “crop circles”,” says Brian Purnell, the video’s director of photographer and editor. “What I loved about Kyle’s script was the characters and their motives he created for each band member.”

“Star” is out today on all DSPs. Dead Slow is due November 22nd via p(doom) Records and you can find it HERE.

Heavy Moss Bio

Heavy Moss formed in late 2022, when Lucas Harwood and Sam Ingles bumped into each other in their hometown of Geelong – a place they’d both recently moved back to. Years before in Melbourne, the two had played in the fuzzed-out ‘90s-inspired band Atolls. Reunited, with Harwood on keys and Ingles on drums, they began workshopping some of Harwood’s songs that didn’t quite fit with his other band, King Gizzard. Like that band, Heavy Moss found themselves mining psychedelic pop for inspiration, landing upon some references curiously missing from the Gizzard canon: Elton John, King Krule, Spacemen 3, and Drugdealer. Before long, the pair brought on Kyle Tickell on guitar and vocals (Sons et al) to expand their sound. Tickell brought along his own batch of dreampop gems, balancing out the frenetic British psych vibe of Harwood’s tunes. Bec Goring came in on bass (Hayley Mary, Courtney Marie Andrews) to fully round out their sound.

The band quickly recorded a couple of singles in each songwriter’s mode (Summa from Tickell and Morning Milk from Harwood); happy with the dynamic and sound, they divided up songwriting duties and dug in for album sessions at Gizzard HQ, committing live takes to tape on the fly. Eight tracks emerged from these sessions. The band added overdubs in their home studios, with Harwood and Stu Mackenzie mixing half the album while on the road. The other half was mixed remotely by Michael Badger, who mixed King Gizzard’s infamous “Nonagon Infinity.”

The first single ‘Star’ draws the listener in with a mellow groove, driven by Rhodes keys and fuzzy lead guitar, before opening up into five minutes of lush, melodic dreampop. The track nods to Real Estate and My Morning Jacket along the way, winding towards its cosmic instrumental outro. The accompanying music video mirrors this trajectory, with the band hatching a conspiratorial plot to make contact with two black-eyed aliens by branding their patch of earth with the shape of a star.

HEAVY MOSS LINKS
Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music