The Lazy Eyes are the psychedelic wonder-boys hailing straight from Australia that without a doubt, should be on your personal ‘Ones To Watch’ list. As if blooming from the sunkissed meadows, their sound is in its most organic state, showcasing the raw talents of each of the band’s members. Their most recent release, EP2, is a coming of age love story; an ode to life as they know it. There’s pureness to the way they craft each of their songs, due to the sheer commitment and belief in their sound exploration that’s nothing more and nothing less. With a perfect balance of grit, etherealness, curiosity, and sunshine, they’ve set a high bar, quickly cementing themselves as beacons in modern psychedelia. With their laser sharp focus and clear determination, it’s only a matter of time before the world catches on.
SPIN caught up with the down-to-earth band and picked their brains about their new EP, the road to success, existential questions they can’t stop thinking about, and more. Catch their most recent release, EP2, here.
Who all are The Lazy Eyes and how did you come to life?
The Lazy Eyes are Harvey, Itay, Leon and Noah and we came to life after meeting at a performing arts high school a few years ago and sharing an interest in the same music and enjoying awkward jokes.
Tell us about your sound – where does your style originate from and what have been your biggest visual, social, and sonic influences?
I think our sound is just the amalgamation of all the subconscious things we’ve been inspired by over the years, applied to our songs. Just recently we were working on a new song in Lindfield Studios and we noticed we were adding in some things that we would never lean into before and we really enjoyed doing it. Harvey’s been getting super into dub music, so we added this beat repeat thing but then also there was a little high synth drone we put in that gave us old-school Outkast vibes? Anyways, I think what I’m trying to say is that what we’re listening to is always changing and that’s what keeps us happy.
What does your typical songwriting/production process look like? Is there a set formula or does it consistently evolve and shape-shift along with your ideas?
Harvey and I write the songs for the band, sometimes together sometimes separately. The recording process really changes up based on the song, we used to do all the layers just Harvey and I, now we’re experimenting with live band recording which has been so fun and rewarding. In any sense, playing the songs live gives fertile ground for each of us to speak our own musical voice through our instruments and let that seep into the arrangement. Usually over time things just mutate until they reach their final form.
How do you define and perceive success? What’s your journey been like this year in the pursuit towards it?
Yeah, it’s been super confusing this year! It’s hard to gauge your own success when suddenly a lot of the things that you thought would lead you there are no longer a viable option. I guess you just have to find happiness in other places. For us, lockdown has brought us really close as friends and with our close team, too. It’s super lucky to always feel like you have someone to talk to who’s in your boat, and in a little way, isn’t cultivating that feeling with another person already the biggest success of them all?
You’ve just released your second EP, EP2, which presents a collection of pure psych-rock/pop singles – what track challenged you the most to record? Which one was the most enjoyable? Which had the most to say?
Thank you! I think EP2 centres around the recording of ‘The Island’. It’s the first track Harvey and I started producing when we went into the project. We really wanted to challenge ourselves to be really creatively open to any ideas or sounds that we thought would work in a recording, so it ended up sounding a bit like a tapestry where one thing could come in for a few bars and then vanish forever, or the scenery would suddenly change. ‘Bon Voyage’ by Melody’s Echo Chamber really influenced us to think that way. ‘Nobody Taught Me’ was the most straight ahead to get down, just a simple little Grandaddy-esque rock number! ‘Where’s My Brain???’ on the other hand, was not, haha! We really struggled to capture the bashy yet precise feel of the guitar solos. So we ended up recording them together in the room and head banging to nail the vibe down.
Psychedelic music and the psychedelia/counter-culture movement can be known as an era of exploring existential curiosities – what are some existential questions you think about? Have any been explored in your music?
Oh man, now that’s a question! Lemme get my bong out real quick, just joking. To be really honest, we’re just like any other friend group of young guys going through this weird world. We deal with the same existential doubts as everyone else! “Will I find true love?”, “Will the band make it?”, “Will I ever be able to smooth out the air bubble I trapped under my phone’s screen protector?” The truth is, nobody knows the answer to these questions, and that is the beautiful thing, that at least we’re all in awe together.
Definitely I think that there are a lot of themes of love that come out in Harvey and my songs, and we chat about the occasional Tinder swipes and stuff in practice. It’s just natural to vent about, right?
If you had to give a title to the current stage you’re at in your career, what would it be?
“Built some good roots, got some decent tracks, just keep swimming, just keep swimming”. I think that actually sums it up. In a way we’re all workaholics for this band, because we really enjoy it and get satisfaction from playing and hanging out with each other. We keep to our little insular bubble and keep on making things that we try to make the best we possibly can, and then we just put them out into the ether and hope they stick.
In what ways do you wish to inspire up and coming artists/producers that are aiming to get their creative work out into the world?
Just start! If you know what you want to hear in your head, nothing technical is going to stop you from getting there if you put enough love and energy into it!
What’s next for The Lazy Eyes?
Nothing. EP2 is our last release ever. Go stream it now before we change our minds and delete it forever 🙂
Take a chance now and manifest something: ______________.
GLASTONBURYYY
Any last words for the SPIN-verse?
Thank you so much for having us! We really enjoyed filming our spin session, and hopefully it gives you some good head spins when you watch it.
Check out The Lazy Eyes’ exclusive live session below. For more SPIN Sessions, head over to SPIN TV.
