We're making a new Slow Mass album!
"Low on Foot" is their first album since 2018's "On Watch," finally seeing the light of day!
Hey. Hi. This feels like it’s becoming a theme here, but we are SCRAMBLING to get my car—packed with hundreds of pounds of paper and records and shirts and whatever else (…and me, I guess)—on the road to Austin for the Flatstock Poster Extravaganza in the convention center at SXSW. We’ve missed a couple in there, and then there were the covid-cancelled ones, but we’ve essentially been doing this weird pilgrimage down there since 2008.
Anyway, more about that tomorrow (if I get a minute to sit at this desk again before I put my seatbelt on and set the GPS)…for now, I need to tell you about a thing we did:
We are releasing a new Slow Mass record.
It’s a full-length, it’s called Low on Foot, it was written and recorded a few years ago and it’s been secretly living in the walls over here this entire time—I can’t tell you how thrilling it is, and what it means to a bunch of us that this thing is in the home stretch of becoming a real thing.
At least some of the reason I can’t tell you, is literally because I don’t have the time to; I need to sit in a car for most of this weekend, and there’s no point to that if it’s not packed full of stuff for me to play carnival-barker about next week. So, allow me to go Full Press Release on you for just a minute, and then I’ll be back at the end with more stuff:
Written on and off between 2016-2021 and recorded in 2021, Low on Foot shows the band evolving and expanding their sound in every direction: the pop hooks are catchier, the heavy pieces more earth-shaking, and the quiet moments more intensely contemplative. In service of this sonic evolution, the band’s lineup has expanded to a 6-piece (now seven since this recording), bringing familiar faces and fresh perspectives into the creative fold. Recorded in Chicago with Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, SUMAC, Thrice), the record features guest spots from a list of long-admired musicians, including NNAMDÏ, Jon Nuñez (Torche), Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos), Macie Stewart (Finom), and many more.
First vinyl pressing out of 666:
16 Black Test Pressings
150 Pink/Clear Color-in-Color (StiffSlack Japan exclusive)
200 Black, White & Pink Eclipse
300 Ice Blue Splatter Explosion
It’ll be out May 16th. We’re going to move heaven and earth to ship preorders out a little bit before that, whenever we have everything in hand.
Debut Single “Hogtied” • featuring a music video directed by Marisa Dabice of Mannequin Pussy
Shot in 2021, Finished editing in 2024. Happy to finally share this beautiful music video directed by our friend Marisa "Missy" Dabice (of the incredible band Mannequin Pussy, but you already knew that and already have been bumping their records). Scope the video, pre-order the record, tell Missy and company they crushed it.
Deluxe Records, a Hand-made Slow Mass History Book & a Bonus 7"
With every Landland release, would you expect us to NOT have some deluxe packaging?1
• Limited Pre-Order-only Deluxe Low on Foot LPs w/ Screenprinted Foil Cover Art Prints, each print on a different textured foil paper. Every print is different! These things will look crazy, and we’re only printing as many of them as we get orders for during this pre-order period (up until it’s time to ship the things).
• There’s also a limited bundle with a companion Deluxe version of the On Watch LP with a similar Screenprinted Foil Cover Art Print of the On Watch album art by Daniel Harris Mendoza (who also did the Low on Foot art, and almost all of the Slow Mass album art).
• For the final special special deluxe ultra rare bundle item:
On & On: The First 10 Years of Slow Mass & the Making of Low On Foot
This 44 page book features interviews with all seven band members, going through the entire band history and making of this record.
Interviews conducted by our brilliant friend David Anthony and featuring photos from longtime collaborators Madi Ellis and Jonathan Velazquez. Layout by (once again) Eric Nyffeler. Books printed and assembled by Dan Black (that’s me, hi.) and Rebecca Sunde at Landland HQ.
• Those book bundles also come with a bonus lathe 7” exclusive to this book, featuring two unreleased tracks. This 7” won't be released digitally or repressed.
• Okay, and then we’re also doing this: A totally bonkers EVERYTHING BUNDLE, that includes a severe discount on ALL of that stuff and EVERY OTHER SLOW MASS THING that we currently have in print. For the scorekeepers, that’ll include:
1. The DELUXE EDITION of the Slow Mass Low on Foot 12” LP on your choice of vinyl color variants. This version is packaged in thick offset jackets with full-color printed inner sleeves, along with a SCREENPRINTED FIVE-COLOR art print on a random assortment of holographic metallic foil stock.
2. A very special and previously unreleased DELUXE EDITION of the Slow Mass On Watch debut LP on Hyacinth vinyl. This version is packaged in offset jackets with black inner sleeves, along with a SCREENPRINTED FIVE-COLOR "On Watch" art print on a random assortment of holographic metallic foil stock.
3. A copy of “On & On: The First 10 Years of Slow Mass & The Making of ‘Low on Foot,’” which is going to be a cool thing. Same format as the “Islandlike Inlandites” books we made a couple years ago…100% screenprinted and assembled by hand, by us, right over there on the other side of the backyard.
4. The exclusive bonus double-sided lathe-cut 7” featuring two unreleased Slow Mass tracks that will never be released digitally or repressed.
5. The Slow Mass Drift Themes 12” EP on an UNRELEASED Silver, Black & White color variant.
6. ALL THREE of the Slow Mass Music for Ears 7” singles on the most-limited colorways that we have left.
7. Both of the cassettes for On Watch and Treasure Pains, packaged in screenprinted die-cut & hand-assembled packaging.
New Apparel
New wears for your 2025 spring collection
“Surgical Tools” shirt and tote illustrated by Erin Hawkins, typography by Eric Nyffeler.
“Washing Machine” concept by Dave Collis, design by Eric Nyffeler.
Chainstitch Embroidered Hat by Rowdy Cowlick, handmade one-by-one.
These items are available for PRE-ORDER ONLY.All shirts printed on Comfort Colors
All mockups (vinyl and apparel) by Eric Nyffeler.
Everyone say “Thank you Eric.”2
Upcoming Shows!
The first couple of runs of shows have been announced. Support details for the May shows coming next month.
5/23 Minneapolis, MN @ Zhora Darling^
5/24 Chicago, IL @ Palisade^
5/25 Chicago, IL @ Palisade^
7/25 Cleveland, OH @ No Class*
7/26 Pittsburgh, PA @ Brillobox*
7/27 Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room*
^ w/ special guests
* w/ Edhochuli
Also, SURPRISE! There’s a new JENNY HANIVER video!
We’re weirdos. I kinda love that Jenny Haniver just totally disregarded “album cycle” stuff here and made a rad video for “Sunk Costs,” off of their excellent debut album Haunt Your Own House, which we released a little bit ago.
I’m still trying—poorly—to keep this short so that I can run back into the studio and check stuff off of this list of frenzied tasks before I end up triaging all the fun out of this trip, so I’m going to let music writers do the thing that I struggle with so often…
There’s a really nice write-up for this video, courtesy of the excellent people over at Everything is Noise…why don’t I just make a button for that too?
LAST THING(S)
Okay, I should’ve probably led with this, but also I probably should’ve sent this last night: TODAY (Friday, March the 7th of 2025) is the BANDCAMP FRIDAY.
It’s the day where they don’t take their cut. It’s a nice thing they do. With some of this stuff, that’s actually kinda substantial, so days like this are nice for all of us tiny little operations. It adds up.
So yeah, I’ll do the button again for good measure, but if you’re feeling like grabbing something from us, right now is a great time to do it. Really…any time is, but it’s cool that they do this.
Okay. I didn’t go too deep into this, but we’re all extremely proud of this stuff we’re putting out—it feels so weird when people treat this thing that often feels like just daydreaming up fun stuff to do with my friends, like a real thing that exists—and honestly, we’ve been sitting on this Slow Mass record for far too long for a whole lot of reasons. I sorta can’t believe it’s actually happening. Holy hell.
If you feel inclined to show support and help us out in ways aside from/beyond grabbing the stuff we’re putting out, go tell your weird friend about it. Share the posts on Blouber or Dunghopper or whatever social media you’re on at the moment. Go see these shows. Send messages and good vibes. Do the “likes” and “hey dude this rules” and whatever else to juice the engagement of the stuff you’re into and would like to see more of.
Or don’t do any of that—I’m not your dad—but just know that even doing small stuff like that to spread the word a little further is such a cool & helpful thing. I’m not even just talking about our stuff…all the good stuff. They made those internet places to sell us nonsense while we fight with each other and with total strangers and with robots, but we can also secretly use it to curate and encourage and prop up the buddies and the weirdos doing stuff we like.
And to that end, thanks for being on this thing and reading all of this (if you have). I promise I’ll get better about sending things out a little more regularly at some point. Maybe tomorrow before I drive a ton? Who knows?
Okay, back to boxes.
Thanks again,
Dan
This came from the Slow Mass press release, haha, but they’re also not wrong…we really do try to do it up with this stuff, to the best of our capacity.
*I also did some mock-ups. I guess everyone say “Thank you Dan and Eric.” Seriously though, huge thanks to both Dave Collis and Eric Nyffeler for helping a bunch with the behind the scenes record label stuff that I don’t have enough arms to do. Rebecca Sunde also has permanent MVP status in that regard, because this whole place would be razed to the ground without her help.
TLDR?