La Luz

Seattle’s La Luz recorded their debut EP, Damp Face, in a small trailer on a hot August day. But barring the inevitable “no-AC-in-the-van” summer tour calamity, La Luz runs cool. Their brand of coolness isn’t about distance or affect; it’s a mood, and—sue me, but I’m about to totally rip off Zelda Fitzgerald: Something about this music vibrates to the dusky, dreamy smell of dying moons and shadows. So yeah, that kind of cool. read more…

Seattle’s La Luz recorded their debut EP, Damp Face, in a small trailer on a hot August day. But barring the inevitable “no-AC-in-the-van” summer tour calamity, La Luz runs cool. Their brand of coolness isn’t about distance or affect; it’s a mood, and—sue me, but I’m about to totally rip off Zelda Fitzgerald: Something about this music vibrates to the dusky, dreamy smell of dying moons and shadows. So yeah, that kind of cool.

Still, La Luz’s live shows, more than most these days, are about connection. It’s evident that the four ridiculously talented ladies on stage are not only playing music with each other, but for each other. And they engage their audience as well. Like a proper punk band—which they are not— they give you shit for not dancing. They convey a gritty self-possession, a sense that they’ve been there and back again. And, like the expert, but seemingly effortless, surf licks and meandering bass lines that rise and fall throughout their songs, their mocking is playful and dreamy and disarming enough to get most of the crowd (and sometimes the keyboard player) dancing down the center line of a soul train.

But as any half-assed Freudian will tell you, there can be no meaningful connection without first weathering some dark and lonely times. Here comes the chilly part: What makes La Luz stand out—and stand out fast—the band has only been playing together for a year and people took notice almost immediately—is that this is a band that embodies that most elusive slant on the human condition: longing, and the fleeting relief that tags alongside deep desire.

In Spanish, La Luz means “light” and that’s the perfect thing to evoke when your songs give the illusion of veering in the opposite direction. But lift out most any lyric—which is a good excuse to give a closer listen to the delicate, four-part harmonies that are fast becoming the band’s signature—and you’ll find that the aches and pains of love and loss, of living in a world where no foothold is ever a promise—all this is delivered with a nuanced dose of perfectly timed exhilaration, like the whole thing might just be worth it in the end.

Last spring, La Luz returned to that steamy trailer park to record It’s Alive – the much-anticipated follow up to Damp Face – with their friend and engineer Johnny Goss. From the first get-psyched drum roll and eerie chords of “Sure As Spring”, the dinged-up pop gem that opens the album, the rest moves like a slow drive on a dangerous road, slinking and bending as the terrain shifts. On “What Good Am I?”, the lead vocals, and the swirl of harmonies that surround it, recall the Spartan haze of Mazzy Star’s misty-eyed super hit. Smack in the middle is the title track. “It’s Alive” is a jangly rocker with a spooky refrain, oodles of ooohs, and a marauding narrative that nails down the misty logic of the rest of the album. Two instrumentals, “Sunstroke” and “Phantom Feelings”, showcase the band’s beach jam surf chops, and fall perfectly between the chilled out heartache that surrounds them.

News

• Gizmodo calls La Luz's album "It's Alive" the perfect comfort during the dreariest days of winter Nov 2, 2014
• Salt Lake City Weekly talks about their upcoming La Luz show Sep 24, 2014
• Live In Limbo reviews La Luz's show at The Danforth Music Hall Sep 24, 2014
• Aesthetic Magazine premiers photos from La Luz's set at The Danforth Music Hall Sep 23, 2014
• Frontier Psychiatrist interview La Luz Sep 22, 2014
• We All Want Someone To Shout For reviews La Luz's show with Ty Segall at Webster Hall Sep 19, 2014
• Baeble praises La Luz's support set for Ty Segall at Webster Hall Sep 19, 2014
• Impose Magazine releases photos of La Luz's European Tour Sep 16, 2014
• The Star Phoenix interviews La Luz Sep 11, 2014
• Planet S Magazine interviews La Luz Sep 4, 2014
• Pop Montreal Festival says "You’d be a sorry fool to miss La Luz's slot supporting Ty Segall" Sep 3, 2014
• Seattle Weekly News reviews La Luz Sep 2, 2014
• Untapped Cities interviews La Luz about their upcoming gig at MoMA Nights Jul 30, 2014
• La Luz featured in The Pulp Zine's Getting to Know Jun 23, 2014
• Noisey interviews La Luz Jun 20, 2014
• Stereogum features La Luz's in "Made in America" Jun 18, 2014
• Mod Cloth interviews La Luz Jun 17, 2014
• Seattle Times reviews La Luz's performance at Sasquatch May 25, 2014
• Contact Music announces La Luz's album "It's Alive" Feb 24, 2014
• SXSW announces La Luz to perform at Panche's SXSW showcase Feb 12, 2014
• AHDM4U features La Luz Dec 15, 2013
• Entertainment Weekly premieres La Luz's video for "Big Big Blood" Dec 2, 2013
• The Le Sigh interviews La Luz Nov 6, 2013
• La Luz makes a list of underrated albums for Blare Magazine's Essentials Oct 16, 2013
• MTV Hive interviews La Luz Oct 14, 2013

Tour Dates

Date	Venue	Location	With	Tickets
Thu 3/5/2015	Siberia	New Orleans, Louisiana	The Shivas
Fri 3/6/2015	The Earl	Atlanta, Georgia	The Shivas
Sat 3/7/2015	Tiger Mountain	Asheville, North Carolina	The Shivas
Tue 3/10/2015	Comet Ping Pong	Washington, DC	The Shivas
Wed 3/11/2015	Kings Barcade	Raleigh, North Carolina	The Shivas
Thu 3/12/2015	Exit/In	Nashville, Tennessee	Freakin' Weekend
Fri 3/13/2015	Colonial Quarter	St. Augustine, Florida	The Shivas
Sat 3/14/2015	Churchills	Miami, Florida	The Shivas
Sun 3/15/2015	Liberty Bar	Tallahassee, Florida	The Shivas
Mon 3/16/2015	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Tue 3/17/2015	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Wed 3/18/2015	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Thu 3/19/2015	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Fri 3/20/2015	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Sat 3/21/2015	SXSW	Austin, Texas
Sun 3/22/2015	Lowbrow Palace	El Paso, Texas	Will Sprott, Dent May
Mon 3/23/2015	Rhythm Room	Phoenix, Arizona	Will Sprott, Dent May
Wed 3/25/2015	Soda Bar	San Diego, California	The Burger / Panache SXSW Caravan of Stars Tour with Meatbodies, Michael Rault, Wax Witches, Will Sprott
Sat 3/28/2015	The Observatory	Santa Ana, California	Burgerama Festival
Mon 3/30/2015	Arlene Francis Center	Santa Rosa, California	Will Sprott
Tue 3/31/2015	Rickshaw Stop	San Francisco, California	Will Sprott
Wed 4/1/2015	Holland Project	Reno, Nevada	Will Sprott
Thu 4/2/2015	Mississippi Studios	Portland, Oregon	Twerps, Will Sprott
Fri 4/3/2015	Capitol Theater	Olympia, Washington	Will Sprott
Sat 4/4/2015	Neumos	Seattle, Washington	Will Sprott