Manchester band Heavy Salad are set to release their debut album Cult Casual next week.
The trio, featuring ex-Moonlandingz member Lee Mann recently revealed their latest single It’s Ok To Bleed, a gospel-tinted psychedelic slice which marks the closing track of the album
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In keeping with the rest of the album It’s Ok To Bleed, which features Heavy Salad’s faithful backing singers The Priestesses, was produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys). The track was also the last to be recorded … the day before lockdown kicked in. Speaking about the track, Lee Mann explained, “The song is about being at peace with yourself and accepting that you can’t be strong all the time, it’s also about compassion for others and looking out for those who need help. It’s about the little things you can do to make a difference to someone’s life an recognizing that it’s ok to let it out sometimes, the song is about catharsis, allowing you to accept and move on, it’s about breathing life into existence.”
Formed in 2018, Heavy Salad comprise a core trio of Lee Mann (live bassist with The Moonlandingz), Rob Glennie and Allan Hutchison. Bonding over a joint interest in psychedelic horror films, with Panos Cosmatos’ cult classic ‘Mandy’ being a particular favourite, Heavy Salad loved the idea of being in a band like a psychedelic cult, albeit a cult with no rules, hence: Cult Casual! Part of the cult, the trio are now joined by Ally McBoo, Esther Maylor, Lucy Hope (The Priestesses) and Oscar Remers whose abilities for mesmeric backing vocals and general witchcraft bring their an otherworldly vibe to the Heavy Salad sound which takes influence from the likes of The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals, Blur and QOTSA.
Cult Casual is due for release on 25 September through Dipped In Gold Recordings. The album was written at their East Manchester base as a loose concept-album exploring finding reality in the modern world. “You could loosely describe Cult Casual as something of a concept LP” explains lead-singer Lee, “lyrically, it’s an exploration of the experience of modern reality, it feels like the LP exists for this exact moment in time, we can’t wait for people to hear it!”