La Luz are releasing a new album, “News of the Universe”, on May 24th via Sub Pop Records. Now they have shared its second single, “Poppies.” The band is led by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Shana Cleveland, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years after the birth of her son, which led to the postponement of shows in 2022. She had this to say about the new single in a press release: “‘Poppies’ is about the surreal feeling of going through the horror and isolation of a cancer diagnosis and treatment and then suddenly being out in the bright world again, trying to make sense of it all, feeling like I’m walking through a waking dream, seeing the first wildflowers come out and feeling a similar sense of rebirth.”
“News of the Universe” follows 2021’s “La Luz”, which was released on Hardly Art, Sub Pop’s sister label, which makes this their debut on Sub Pop proper.
“Seeing the cycle of life, seeing things grow out of decay, the decay of other living things—was super comforting to me. I had to get to a place where I felt more comfortable with the idea of death,” Cleveland said of the new album in a previous press release.
News of the Universe features a changing of the guard in terms of La Luz’s lineup—it’s the first appearance for drummer Audrey Johnson and the final ones from longtime members Lena Simon (bass) and Alice Sandahl (keyboards).
La Luz worked with producer Maryam Qudos (Spacemoth) on the album and the collaboration went so well that Qudos has joined the band as their new keyboardist.
“There are moments on this album that sound to me like the last frantic confession before an asteroid destroys the earth,” said Cleveland, summing up News of the Universe.
From the upcoming album ‘News of the Universe,’ out on May 24th
The Fat Angel Sings 