La Luz – the band led by Shana Cleveland – have announced a new LP, News of the Universe, their first for Sub Pop after four albums on subsidiary Hardly Art. It arrives on May 24, and lead single ‘Strange World’ is out now. Check it out below, and keep scrolling for the album cover and tracklist, as well as the band’s upcoming tour dates.
“It’s been a strange and difficult few years, and at moments, I have found myself rushing to move forward in time, to leave the present and escape to whatever is next,” Cleveland explained in a statement. “The best advice a friend gave me during a time when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed and battling consecutive panic attacks was to go outside, take my shoes off, and sit with my feet on the earth. This seemed to slow the universe down in a way that made it feel easier to handle. So this chorus is something of a mantra to myself ‘we’ll be fine, just take your time.’”
News of the Universe is the band’s first album to feature drummer Audrey Johnson and makrs the final appearances from longtime La Luz members bassist Lena Simon and keyboardist Alice Sandahl. The album was made with producer Maryam Qudos (Spacemoth), who would bring in ideas “that to me felt like choices that I would not normally make, but I was really stoked about,” Cleveland said. “Sometimes she would have ideas about the structure of the songs, which a producer often doesn’t really mess with. But as a songwriter herself, I think she felt really comfortable with us.”
News of the Universe Cover Artwork:
News of the Universe Tracklist:
1. Reaching Up to the Sun
2. Strange World
3. Dandelions
4. Poppies
5. Good Luck With Your Secret
6. Always in Love
7. Close Your Eyes
8. I’ll Go With You
9. Blue Moth Cloud Shadow
10. News of the Universe
11. Moon in Reverse
12. Blue Jay
La Luz 2024 Tour Dates:
May 23 Barcelona, ES – Sala Upload
May 24 Madrid, ES – Tomavistas Festival
May 25 London, UK – Wide Awake Festival
May 30 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile (Record Release Show)
Jul 27 Portland, OR – Project Pabst
Aug 30 Brighton, UK – Brighton Psych Fest
Aug 31 Manchester, UK – Manchester Psych Fest
Sep 1 Edinburgh, UK – Edinburgh Psych Fest
Sep 3 Bristol, UK – Strange Brew
Sep 5 Paris, FR – Point Ephemere
Sep 6 Sart-Messire-Guillaume, BE – SMG Music Fest
Sep 7 Asten-Heusden, NL – Misty Fields Festival
Sep 8 Amsterdam, NL – Indiestadt x Suger Mountain @ Paradiso
Sep 10 Cologne, DE – Bumann & SOHN
Sep 11 Hamburg, DE – Prinzenbar
Sep 12 Berlin, DE – Badehaus
Sep 13 Schorndorf, DE – Manufaktur
Sep 14 Zürich, DE – Bogen
Sep 26 Chicago, IL – Subterranean
Sep 27 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
Sep 28 St. Paul, MM – Turf Club
Sep 30 St. Louis, MO – Blueberry Hill
Oct 1 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
Oct 2 Nashville, TN – The End
Oct 3 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade – Purgatory
Oct 4 Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall
Oct 5 Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall
Oct 6 Washington, DC – The Atlantis
Oct 8 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
Oct 9 Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere – Hall
Oct 10 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Oct 11 Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz
Oct 12 Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern
Oct 13 Ferndale, MI – The Loving Touch
Oct 28 Denver, CO – Marquis Theater
Oct 30 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
Oct 31 Boise, ID – The Olympic
Nov 3 Vancouver, BC – The Pearl
Nov 6 Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s
Nov 7 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Nov 8 Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
Nov 9 Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
