New York City-based musician/producer Yuno is sharing details for Blest, his forthcoming debut album, out Friday, May 16th, 2025 worldwide from Sub Pop.
You can now watch the official video for “Blest,” the album’s ebullient title track, directed by and starring Yuno. He says of the visual, “I turned my entire home recording studio into a giant blue screen to make this video. I hope people in my building don’t get concerned about my storage unit filled with 1800 square feet of blue fabric and a 5-foot tall rose.”
All songs on Blest were written and performed by Yuno, co-produced by Yuno and Frank Corr, who also contributed keyboards, drums, and guitar throughout the record. The album also features additional production and instrumentation by Patrick Wimberly (“True,” “Massive”) at The CRC in Brooklyn, and Nick Sanborn at Betty’s in Durham, NC (“True”). Blest was mixed by Steve Vealey and mastered by Joe La Porta.
Blest is available to preorder on CD/LP/All DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com (North America), MM2 (in UK/EU), your local record store and at Yuno’s future live shows will receive the limited Loser edition on White vinyl (Limited LP colors whilst stock lasts!).
Late last month, Yuno released another Blest highlight “True,” a sweet track that marries trap and dream pop. It marked the first new material since the release of “Somebody,” his standalone single from 2021, and the 2018 EP, Moodie, which features his breakout single ”No Going Back.”
Yuno will also appear at the 2025 NonCommvention in Philadelphia on Tuesday, May 6th, 2025.
More on Yuno’s Blest:
Yuno’s full-length debut, Blest, finds the enigmatic indie-pop visionary transforming the emo-tinged suburban malaise of his 2018 Moodie EP into more expansive, widescreen pop drama — suited for big moves and bigger stages. The kaleidoscopic sound he devised as a millennial hermit in his childhood bedroom in Florida has since broadened his horizons, taking him on tour with Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Superorganism, and soundtracking various series for Netflix and HBO. Imbued with elements of dream-pop, rock, trap, and psychedelia, his eclectic songs serve as bids for love and connection, which especially in the fractured era of social media, have resonated with many listeners who find solace in his vulnerability.
Yuno Moodie was born in New York to Jamaican parents from the U.K., and grew up in the coastal Southern city of Jacksonville, Florida. Raised on a sonic diet of reggae and hip-hop records — his father’s copy of 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was on regular rotation in the family car throughout the 2000s — Yuno’s musical tastes began to diverge after his grandfather gifted him a skateboard that he found in a garbage can. Eventually, and unexpectedly, Yuno’s new hobby would dovetail with a future career in music.
“The first time I ever got on a skateboard, I broke my foot,” he recalls. It was while he was on the mend that he fully immersed himself in video games like Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, famous gateways for many young punks of the millennial generation. As he studied skate videos to build on his athletic technique, he also cultivated a sixth sense as a composer and overall curator of vibes. “I’m always visualizing things when I’m making music and that helps me complete the full picture,” says Yuno. “To this day I’m like, ‘What does it need to make it fit in a skate video?’”
Having taught himself the bass and guitar at home, his early material began as impressions of harder bands like HIM, Rancid, and AFI; later, he would embrace anti-folk heroes like the Moldy Peaches and Daniel Johnston. With the advent of the social media predecessor Myspace, Yuno began discovering more eclectic local Jacksonville acts, like indie-pop darlings Black Kids — who offered a more diverse look and eclectic sound for the Bold City, which had then been defined by white radio rockers like Limp Bizkit, Yellowcard, and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. “Seeing Black Kids’ success showed me more of what I could do,” says Yuno.
In time, Yuno taught himself to produce on his laptop, and filled his childhood bedroom with instruments to cultivate a more full-bodied sound, in which he married crunching pop-punk riffs with glimmers of synth strings Yuno uploaded his ballads of teenage longing to Soundcloud, where they began to catch fire within the indie blogosphere — and by 2014, caught the attention of Shabazz Palaces emcee and Sub Pop A&R representative Ishmael Butler. At that time, Yuno had never performed a live show, and could count the number of concerts he’d been to on one hand.
“He DMed me for new music, but I didn’t have anything to bring him,” recalls Yuno. “A year or so later, he came back and asked, ”Do you mind if I share your music with Sub Pop?’ Apparently, they liked it, and I flew out to Seattle to meet everybody.”
That visit resulted in a record deal with Sub Pop and eventually, his 2018 debut EP, Moodie. The record’s evocative, yearning hooks and cinematic ambience made a suitable soundtrack for film and TV. His surfy pop track “Sunlight,” a summer sketch he revitalized from 2012, was featured in an episode of the Netflix series Atypical; and the gossamer melancholy of “Fall in Love” made for a haunting needle drop in comedian Ramy Youssef’s HBO special, Feelings.
By this time, Yuno had moved back to his birthplace of New York City and settled in Bushwick — just before the Covid-19 pandemic had threatened to stall his music career, along with the world. Sequestered at home once more, like the monastic days of his youth, Yuno began piecing together his foundation for Blest. “For the first time in my life, I was social, going to shows, and meeting new people,” says Yuno. “Then I had to kind of go back and revert to just being in my bedroom all day. It was strange, but I was used to it!”
As the pandemic eased, Yuno welcomed collaborators like Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso and Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift, the latter who lends his sparkle to the fuzz-rock saunter of Blest track, “Massive” — “The bane of staying young is gettin’ older,” sings Yuno, speaking to the all-too precious resource that is time. Co-producer Frank Corr, the NYC artist who performs as Morning Silk, introduced an array of vintage synthesizers to the musician.
Yuno’s superpower lies in the way he mines a multitude of genres for their pop potential and surfaces with a tapestry that feels novel and fresh. Take, for instance, “Blest,” the immediate, blissful, and bright title track, which is inspired by Rich Harrison-breakbeats and Neptunes-esque jangle. Or the breezy single, “True,” which he began writing at producer Sanborn’s Betty’s in Durham, NC, Yuno moderates a lover’s quarrel with slick, trap percussions. Amid the breakbeated dream-rock of “Gimme Ocean,” he introduces his guitar solo with a searing emo scream, run through an EarthQuaker Devices pedal. Don’t let his sanguine aura or his sherbet pink wardrobe fool you; he can shred as hard as he wants to when he wants to.
Yuno Blest
Tracklisting: 1. Blest 2. We Belong 3. Massive 4. Unfair 5. Perfect Pear 6. Fall Apart 7. Worst of Times 8. True 9. Gimme Ocean 10. Blitz!
Acclaimed TV On The Radio frontman and multi-hyphenate talent Tunde Adebimpe has released a new song “God Knows,” from his highly anticipated debut solo album, Thee Black Boltz. The album is set to be released on April 18th via Sub Pop Records.
“God Knows” delves into the complexities of a bittersweet breakup, showcasing Adebimpe’s distinctive vocals and introspective lyrics. The song captures the raw vulnerability of heartbreak as Adebimpe sings, “You’re the worst thing I ever loved, And you’re bad news but I still want to give you my love.”
Of the latest single, the TV on the Radio frontman says “Breaking up is hard to down dooby doo down do”.
Tunde Adebimpe has also announced an intimate record release show at Los Angeles’ Zebulon on Thursday, April 17. Tickets are on sale now and are available HERE.
This announcement comes on the heels of the vivid and introspective “Drop” earlier this year and last year’s lead single “Magnetic”. Thee Black Boltz is produced by Tunde Adebimpe & Wilder Zoby, and executive produced by Zoby, with additional production and contributions from Jaleel Bunton & Jahphet Landis (of TV on the Radio), and more. Showcasing visionary soundscapes, the album is a nod to Adebimpe’s propensity to write and sing about the human condition – in all its forms, under all its stressors, both big and small. Pre-order the record HERE.
“…Adebimpe is strutting back into the spotlight with style.” - Consequence
“Adebimpe is plagued with the state of the world, as he muses on the human race, love, tenderness and how to fly above it all. He whistles, claps and yelps—in all the ways that made TV On The Radio songs so compelling and mesmeric—but with a progressive voice that sounds fresh and thrilling in 2024.” - Paste
“‘’Magnetic’… It’s an apt name for the track, which opens with a reflective, melancholic lyric (‘I was thinking about my time in space’) before the propulsive instrumentals drop in and never let up.” - AV Club
“Tunde Adebimpe had quite the 2024, stealing scenes in Twisters and reuniting with TV on the Radio to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. The front man will get a little more “me” time this year with his first solo album via Sub Pop.” - Vulture’s “Albums We Can’t Wait to Hear in 2025”
Thee Black Boltz is not a TV On The Radio album. But in a lot of ways, the excitement of doing something on his own for the first time ignited a similar spark in him as during the early TV On The Radio days. The songwriting process is the same, he says, but with his TVOTR bandmates, Adebimpe knows he doesn’t always have to complete his ideas. “I’ve been doing this thing with this group of people for so long, that I can just have a vague sketch of a concept and I know Jaleel or Kyp will have five brilliant ideas on where it can go,” he says. “But for Thee Black Boltz, I didn’t have that scaffolding to hang on. That was both terrifying and exhilarating.”
At the heart of the album is its title. It is his response to the macro unease of a post-pandemic world careening towards violent authoritarianism and the personal grief that has come from loss in recent years, specifically the sudden passing of his younger sister while making it. Thee Black Boltz is Adebimpe’s desperate grasping of small moments of joy amidst the dissonance and sadness, any way he can. Making this album, he says, was his way of processing everything: “It was my way of building a rock or a platform for myself in the middle of this fucking ocean.”
And thus, Thee Black Boltz. As he writes in his notebook, “The sparks of inspiration/motivation / hope that flash up in the midst of (and sometimes as a result of) deep grief, depression or despair. Sort of like electrons building up in storm clouds clashing until they fire off lightning and illuminate a way out, if only for a second.”
“Also,” he adds. “it’s a good name for a cool metal band, and I think that most people would describe me as akin to a very cool metal band.”
Today, Deep Sea Diver is sharing “What Do I Know,” a new offering from Billboard Heart, the band’s triumphant new album, out this Friday, February 28th, 2025 worldwide on Sub Pop.
The tight, vibrant, jump-cut style official video for the single stars the band, and is directed by Eric Luck and Deep Sea Diver’s Peter Mansen. Dobson says of the song and video, “‘What Do I Know’ holds a special place on the record. It is the first song that I engineered all of the instruments myself at my home studio. At the time, I thought I was recording a demo and most of the parts are first takes. We kept all of the imperfections, and nothing was overthought. For the music video, we wanted to lean into that same spirit and gave ourselves only a few hours to film in a very small space. The song is equally existential as it is tongue in cheek, and we wanted the video to reflect more of the raw elements of who we are as a band.”
Deep Sea Diver’s Billboard Heart immediately puts the band in the company of St. Vincent, TV on the Radio, and Flock of Dimes, bands that have found newly ornate and magnetic ways to make indie rock by discarding notions of how it must sound or what it must say. Dobson punches through her past here. As she howls during Billboard Heart’s rapturous title track, she is “welcoming the future by letting go of it.”
It is a coup, a triumph over self-doubt in which what first felt like failure became an opportunity to find new freedom, belief, and strength. You can hear it in each of these eleven songs, the beating heart that makes everything here feel like a new anthem for finding your own way forward.
Billboard Heart was written and performed by primary songwriter and guitar player Jessica Dobson, and her partner, drummer and band co-writer Peter Mansen, and synth player Elliot Jackson. Additional contributions include former The Shins’ bandmate Yuuki Matthews, Caroline Rose, and Greg Leisz. Billboard Heart was produced by Jessica Dobson and Andy D. Park, with additional production from Adam Schatz, mixed by Park, and mastered by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone.
Deep Sea Diver’s fast-selling headlining North American tour in support of Billboard Heart begins Saturday, March 29th in Walla Walla, WA at The Motor Co. and runs through Saturday, May 17th, with a sold-out hometown show at The Showbox at The Market. Deep Sea Diver has added second nights in Chicago, IL, and Denver, CO, – Saturday, April 26th at Chicago’s Empty Bottle and Saturday, May 10th at Denver’s Globe Hall.
Deep Sea Diver has also scheduled a series of Billboard Heart release events in Seattle, including an album listening party and signing at brewery Cloud Burst Ballard on Thursday, February 27th (5 pm, All Ages), an in-store performance and signing at Easy Street (7 pm, All Ages), and a signing at Sub Pop’s retail store on 7th Ave on Sunday, March 2nd (1 pm, All Ages).
For more information on tickets, please visit Deep Sea Diver’s tour dates page. Please find a complete list of dates below.
Thu. Feb. 27 - Seattle, WA - Cloud Burst Ballard (Listening Party+Signing; 5 pm | AA) Fri. Feb. 28 - Seattle, WA - Easy Street Records (Instore; 7 pm | AA) Sun. Mar. 02 - Seattle, WA - Sub Pop on 7th (Signing; 1 pm | AA) Sat. Mar. 29 - Walla Walla, WA - The Motor Co Sun. Mar. 30 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Fest Tue. Apr. 01 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow’s Thu. Apr. 03 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom Sat. Apr. 05 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriets Indoors Sun. Apr. 06 - San Diego, CA - Belly Up Tue. Apr. 08 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent Fri. Apr.11 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom Sat. Apr. 12 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Club Thu. Apr. 24 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club Fri. Apr. 25 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle Sat. Apr. 26 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle Mon. Apr. 28 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern Wed. Apr. 30 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Lounge Thu. May 01 - Allston, MA - Brighton Music Hall Fri. May 02 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg Sat. May 03 - Washington, DC - The Atlantis Sun. May 04 - Pittsburgh, PA - Thunderbird Music Hall Tue. May 06 - Indianapolis, IN - Hi-Fi Wed. May 07 - St. Louis, MO - Off-Broadway Fri. May 09 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall Sat. May 10 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall Mon. May 12 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Urban Lounge Sat. May 17 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox at the Market [Sold Out]
Billboard Heart, which also features the official videos for the title track and “Shovel,”, will be available on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com (US), Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), Deep Sea Diver’s Official Website, Bandcamp, and your local record store will receive the limited Loser edition vinyl on Transparent Pink (North America), Glacial Blue (Bandcamp North America), and Opaque Pink (UK/Europe) (All limited edition vinyl colors available while stock lasts!). The Billboard Heart cover image is shot by photographer Neil Krug and from his “Spirit II” photo series.
What People Are Saying About Deep Sea Diver’s Billboard Heart
“Dobson’s slightly wounded vocals and scuzzy guitar; a slick, keyboard-festooned backdrop and, even on the straightforward hushed ‘Loose Change’ and the relatively spartan ‘Always Waving Goodbye,’ a sense of galloping ur-gency. Madison Cunningham drops in to add guitar and Pierces-style harmonies on ‘Let Me Go,’ but Dobson is the star of her own show, from the cascading choruses of ‘See In The Dark’ to the title track’s stylish chimes, and in ‘What Do I Know’ she may have found Deep Sea Diver’s key to crossover.” ★★★★ MOJO
“…Earmarked by crunchier guitars, soaring synths, and the occasional heavy drum fill (often explosion-like, as on ‘What Do I Know’). What results is a record of vast diversity and glittering dream pop, the unifying feature being Dobson’s excellent solo playing on guitar.” 8/10, Under the Radar
“Pop grandeur, gnarly fundamentalist hardcore, iridescent psych, gothic elegance, electro-rock drama and anthemic tunes with a cathedral-like grandeur - Jessica Dobson’s band serve up all of them here, so you wonder why DSD aren’t as big as Florence + The Machine…songs such as ‘Shovel,’ ‘See In The Dark’ and ‘Emergency’ punch and swagger with a defiant dose of rock’n’roll pomp and circumstance.” UNCUT
Deep Sea Diver Billboard Heart
Tracklisting: 1. Billboard Heart 2. What Do I Know 3. Emergency 4. Shovel 5. Tiny Threads 6. Loose Change 7. Always Waving Goodbye 8. Let Me Go (feat. Madison Cunningham) 9. Be Sweet 10. See in the Dark 11. Happiness Is Not a Given
Following the release of Stretch the Struggle, Bria Salmena shares her latest single, Hammer, a fractured pop anthem that feels especially timely. Originally written as a love song, Hammer has since taken on new weight—as an empowering affirmation of resilience that is central to Big Dog, and arriving at a time when that feels more essential than ever.
“I’ve been struggling lately to find some light, to find strength in this current global dumpster fire,” says Salmena. “My personal troubles aside I feel as though this song resonates in a different way to me now. Whether I realized it or not, ‘you are a hammer’ and ‘you are a big dog’ became words of encouragement for myself, and in a way, the mantra for the record.”
The official video for Hammer, directed by Matthew Tammaro and Rebecca Cianfrini (who also shot the album’s artwork and press photos), is out now. Watch it here.
Long celebrated as the frontwoman of Canadian post-punk outfit FRIGS and as a vocalist in Orville Peck’s band, Salmena culminates her artistic evolution on her debut solo album Big Dog, set for release on March 28th via Royal Mountain in Canada and Sub Pop for the remainder of the world. Anchored by her commanding voice, the album chronicles a story of transformation–a deeply personal exploration of resilience and a declaration of artistic independence.
Salmena has expanded the previously announced shows in North America, with UK/EU dates to follow in May. See below for a full list of upcoming tour dates. Tickets are now available via Bria Salmena’s official website.
Upcoming Tour Dates Wed. Apr. 02 - San Diego, CA - Casbah Fri. Apr. 04 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy + Harriet’s Sat. Apr. 05 - San Francisco, CA - Make Out Room Tue. Apr. 08 - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou’s Wed. Apr. 09 - Portland, OR - Swan Dive Fri. Apr. 11 - Visilia, CA - Cellar Door Sat. Apr. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room Fri. Apr. 25 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Lounge Sat. Apr. 26 - Kingston, NY - Tubby’s Sun. Apr. 27 - New York, NY - Baby’s All Right Tue. Apr. 29 - Baltimore, ML - Metro Baltimore Wed. Apr. 30 - Richmond, VA - The Camel Thu. May 01 - Nashville, TN - The Blue Room Fri. May 02 - Cincinnati, OH - Southgate House Revival Sat. May 03 - Chicago, IL - Hideout Wed. May 07 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB Fri. May 09 - Toronto, ON - The Great Hall Mon. May 12 - UK, Manchester - YES Tue. May 13 - London, UK - The Lexington Wed. May 14 - Brighton, UK - The Great Escape Fri. May 16 - Amsterdam, NL - London Calling Festival Sat. May 17 - Rotterdam, NL - Roodkapje Mon. May 19 - Paris, FR - La Boule Noire Tue. May 20 - Köln, DE - Jaki Thur. May 22 - Berlin, DE - Privatclub Fri. May 23 - Copenhagen, DK - Loppen Sat. May 24 - Stockholm, SE - Echo Three Festival Sun. May 25 - Oslo, NO - Revolver Tue. May 27 - Hamburg, DE - Häkken Sat. July 5 - Orillia, ON - Mariposa Folk Festival
Big Dog is now available to pre-order on vinyl/CD/digital formats from Sub Pop. A Loser Edition LP on Orchid Vinyl is available through the Sub Pop Mega Mart (North America), Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), and independent retailers worldwide (excl CA).
“Canadian jack-of-all-genres Bria Salmena uses massive sounds and gripping vocals to create a rock track teeming with self reflection” - The Line of Best Fit
“There’s a visceral energy to the song, a directness that fans perhaps haven’t seen from her” - CLASH
“Salmena’s exciting and boundless [vocal] range is just one of many reasons why we can’t wait to hear the full album when it drops” - CBC
“Toronto’s Bria Salmena is poised to be one of the most exciting voices in 2025’s indie rock canon with the release of her debut album Big Dog” - Atwood Magazine
More about Bria Salmena’s Big Dog:
Big Dog is a record of big emotions and big ambitions. Musically, it hovers between two worlds, gritty punk honesty always simmering below gleaming atmospherics, impossible to ignore. There are alternative rock touchstones—you’ll hear Live Through This, Kate Bush, Mazzy Star —and one genuine alternative rock icon in Lee Ranaldo, who contributes guitar to “See’er.” But there’s also a sleekness that’s just as much a callback to ‘80s coldwave as it is to ecstatic forms of dance music. The split effect can be eerie, as on the clanging “Rags,” a song that seems to groan and shimmer. It can be soothing as on the fractured pop song “Hammer,” Big Dog’s one true love song. Or it can be both at the same time as on the Mazzy Star-esque “Twilight,” the oldest song on the record and one that features a stripped back sound foregrounding its sense of naivety and surrender.
Salmena’s rich voice is ever-present, a constant warm glow within a mesh of mechanical sounds. It’s ever-present and impossible to ignore, whether Salmena is angelically harmonizing with herself, murmuring in her lowest registers, or pushing herself into an uncomfortable falsetto and staying there. “I just need it, need it, need it,” she repeats on “Stretch the Struggle,” a song about being suspended in that anguished moment between realizing something needs to go and actually letting it go, her voice slowly becoming subsumed in pulsing electronic beats and bubbling synths.
At its core, Big Dog is more than just a record about discovering who you are by processing painful experiences. It’s a record about discovering that you are never really alone.
Bria Salmena Big Dog
Track Listing: 1. Drastic 2. Backs of Birds 3. Closer to You 4. Hammer 5. Radisson 6. Twilight 7. On the Line 8. Stretch the Struggle 9. Rags 10. See’er 11. Peanut 12. Water Memory
Today, Lael Neale is sharing details on behalf of Altogether Stranger, her expansive forthcoming new album, out May 2nd, 2025 worldwide on Sub Pop.
Clocking in at just 32 minutes, the 9-song LP covers an unexpected breadth of musical and lyrical terrain—from garage rock nursery rhymes and creation myths to Motorik dance dirges and solitary Omnichord meditations. A brilliant lyricist, Neale has a unique ability to uncover the extraordinary within the mundane, tackling themes of polarity that recur throughout her work—country vs. city, humanity vs. technology, isolation vs. society. This album is her third collaboration with producer Guy Blakeslee who helps expand the tonal palette while staying true to Neale’s commitment to the raw immediacy and hand-made intimacy of home recording.
Lead offering “Tell Me How To Be Here” paints a stark and haunting portrait of Neale’s return to Los Angeles after 3 years living in rural Virginia. It transmutes a dissociative unease into a woozy, dreamlike reverie, echoing the Velvet Underground with the distant chime of “Sunday Morning” bells. Neale’s crystalline voice floats above Blakeslee’s ambient tape loops and ghostly, disintegrating Mellotron, evoking the disorientation of waking up in a world that feels so ordinary it becomes strange. Its official video, which is directed by and stars the singer, captures the song’s kindred spirit. It was filmed by Neale and Blakeslee in Los Angeles.
The songs on Altogether Stranger, which include “Down On The Freeway,” “Wild Waters,” and the aforementioned “Tell Me How To Here,” were written by Neale. The album was produced and mixed by Blakeslee at home in Los Angeles and mastered by Chris Coady.
Altogether Stranger is available to preorder on CD/LP/All DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com (North America), MM2 (in UK/EU), your local record store and at Neale’s live shows will receive the limited Loser edition on Lavender (NA) and Magenta (UK/EU) vinyl. There is also a special edition available through Rough Trade in the UK and EU on Cream White vinyl (All LP colors whilst stock lasts!).
Lael Neale will support Altogether Stranger with headlining spring tour dates for April and May 2025. In April, Neale and bandmate Blakeslee have two album US release shows – Thursday, April 10th in Los Angeles at Zebulon, and Friday, April 25th in New York City, NY at Public Records. Then, in May, they’ll head over to the UK and EU, beginning May 10th in Dublin, IE at Workman’s Cellar and ending Saturday, May 31st in Glasgow, UK at Hug & Pint. Tickets for these shows are on sale now.
Thu. Apr. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon Fri. Apr. 25 - New York City, NY - Public Records Sat. May 10 - Dublin, IE - Workman’s Cellar Sun. May 11 - Belfast, UK - McHughs Wed. May 14 - Lausanne, CH - Le Romandie Thu. May 15 - Dijon, FR - La Vapeur Fri. May 16 - Paris, FR - Le Hasard Ludique Sat. May 17 - Brussels, BE - Les Nuits Botanique Mon. May 19 - Amsterdam, NL - DOKA Tue. May 20 - Hamburg, DE - Nachtasyl Wed. May 21 - Berlin, DE - Kantine am Berghain Fri. May 23 - Copenhagen, DK - Huset Sat. May 24 - Stockholm, SE - Echo Three Fest Tue. May 27 - Bristol, UK - The Louisiana Wed. May 28 - London, UK - Omeara Thu. May 29 - Manchester, UK - YES Basement Fri. May 30 - Newcastle, UK - Cumberland Arms Sat. May 31 - Glasgow, UK - Hug & Pint
About Lael Neale’s Altogether Stranger:
Lael Neale’s minimalist drone pop draws inspiration from the Transcendentalists, the alienation of modern life, and a rich array of musical influences—ranging from Dionne Warwick and John Lennon to primitive American gospel and Spacemen 3. Her expansive new record, Altogether Stranger, was written and recorded in the early morning quiet of Los Angeles. Clocking in at just 32 minutes, the 9-song LP covers an unexpected breadth of musical and lyrical terrain—from garage rock nursery rhymes and creation myths to Motorik dance dirges and solitary Omnichord meditations. A brilliant lyricist, Neale has a unique ability to uncover the extraordinary within the mundane, tackling themes of polarity that recur throughout her work—country vs. city, humanity vs. technology, isolation vs. society. This album is her third collaboration with producer Guy Blakeslee who helps expand the tonal palette while staying true to Neale’s commitment to the raw immediacy and hand-made intimacy of home recording.
Reflecting on her lo-fi, D.I.Y. ethos in her newsletter Consensual Sound, she writes: “I love doing things the wrong way. It’s so rare that we get to do that in life. Even as artists, I notice a slow and steady conformity set in as musicians become legitimate. I do it too. How else would we fit into the font, size & waveform of streaming services. I rebel in minute ways—like refusing to follow a recipe. In the end, I’m just like everyone else: I want to belong.”
Altogether Stranger was conceived after three years of oscillating between rural solitude and urban chaos. Neale explains: “On returning to Los Angeles I felt like an extraterrestrial landing on a dystopian planet so I’m writing from the perspective of a being from another realm witnessing the peculiarities of humanity.” The album finds Neale perched at the piano in a hilltop bungalow, looking down on a rare curve of Sunset Blvd. Here, in this daily ritual of writing, singing, and painting—what David Lynch referred to as “the Art Life”—she creates the space for her most adventurous work to date.
The album’s centerpiece, “Tell Me How to Be Here,” paints a stark and haunting portrait of her return to Los Angeles, transmuting a dissociative unease into a woozy, dreamlike reverie, echoing the Velvet Underground with the distant chime of “Sunday Morning” bells. Neale’s crystalline voice floats above Blakeslee’s ambient tape loops and ghostly, disintegrating Mellotron, evoking the disorientation of waking up in a world that feels so ordinary it becomes strange.
Born and raised in Virginia’s idyllic countryside, Neale brought the high-lonesome sound of her home state with her when she moved to California to pursue music. After years of writing songs on guitar and playing small venues in Los Angeles, she discovered the Omnichord in 2019, which sparked a new creative direction. Working with Blakeslee, she recorded an unpolished collection of songs on a cassette 4-track, which Blakeslee sent to Sub Pop Records in March 2020. The resulting album, Acquainted With Night, struck a chord with listeners during the bizarre days of early 2021.
Star Eaters Delight (2023), deepened the collaboration with Blakeslee, infusing minimalist soundscapes with a heightened electric energy. The album’s subsequent tour included sold-out shows in Los Angeles, New York City, London, and Paris, multiple trips across Europe, and a West Coast run supporting kindred spirit Weyes Blood. This marked yet another return to Los Angeles.
Indeed, Los Angeles is not just the backdrop of Altogether Stranger but a lead character. The album’s accompanying film - created with Neale’s faithful Sony Handycam - builds on her ongoing series of self-directed music videos and tells the story of herself as an alien in a suit of mirrors stranded on Earth. Wandering through modern-day LA she finds both absurdity and beauty in our fragile, untenable way of life.
“In the course of writing this record there was one song I could never finish. The main line was, ‘I don’t belong here, I am an altogether stranger.’ I meant ‘stranger’ as a noun, not an adjective. Even though I abandoned the song, the lost chorus stuck with me & became the unspoken motif of the record,” says Neale. Over the long year it took to write Altogether Stranger, she vacillated between childlike optimism and existential melancholy. While she may not have been able to reconcile these opposing states, the attempt led to an ambitious breakthrough for this singular, self-sufficient artist.
Lael Neale Altogether Stranger
1. Wild Waters 2. All Good Things Will Come To Pass 3. Down On The Freeway 4. Sleep Through The Long Night 5. Come On 6. Tell Me How To Be Here 7. New Ages 8. All Is Never Lost 9. There From Here
Today, musician and actress Suki Waterhouse is sharing “Dream Woman,” a mesmeric new ballad available today worldwide on Sub Pop. The single was composed by Suki, Jules Apollinaire, and Natalie Findlay, written by Suki and Findlay, and produced by Apollinaire. The official video for “Dream Woman” is directed by Imogen Waterhouse with Madeleine Jean Waterhouse as director of photography.
Suki Waterhouse also just sold out an intimate three-night residency series at the world-famous The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, Monday, March 3rd through March 5th, 2025, where fans can expect to hear “Dream Woman” live for the first time.
The announcement of this new residency follows Suki’s headlining 2024 North American tour in support of Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, her acclaimed 2024 sophomore album for Sub Pop. The wildly successful sold-out tour, which included a stop at The Greek Theatre in LA in October, saw her perform over 30 shows. Additionally, last year, Suki opened for one of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stops in London.
Suki has also scheduled international festival appearances for the Spring and Summer of 2025, which include the Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Music Festival in Austin, TX, Kilby Court Block Party in Salt Lake City, UT, Lowlands Festival in Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands, Cabaret Vert Music Festival and Rock En Seine in France, Leeds and Reading Festivals in the UK, and the Super Bloom Festival in Munich, Germany. Please find a complete list of live performances below.
Mon. Mar. 03 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy Tue. Mar. 04 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy Wed. Mar. 05 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy Fri. Mar. 07 - Austin, TX - Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Festival Fri. May 18 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court Block Party Fri. Aug. 15- Sun. Aug. 17 - Biddinghuizen, NL - Lowlands Festival Fri. Aug. 15 - Charleville-Mézières, FR - Cabaret Vert Music Festival Wed. Aug. 20 - Paris, FR - Rock En Seine Festival Fri. Aug. 22 - Leeds, UK - Leeds Festival Sun. Aug. 24 - Reading, UK - Reading Festivals Sat. Aug. 30 - Sun. Aug. 31 - Munich, DE - Super Bloom Festival
For updated information on ticket sales and live dates, please visit sukiwaterhouse.tv.
Memoir of a Sparklemuffin is “a sprawling 18-track release that never outstays its welcome and features plenty of shining moments” (Associated Press). The album, which features the Top 10 AAA radio single “Supersad” and Suki’s masterful video for “Model, Actress, Whatever,” along with highlights “To Love,” “OMG,” “My Fun,” and ‘Faded,” is available worldwide from Sub Pop.
The platinum-certified songstress asserts herself as a versatile, vibrant, and vital presence on Memoir of a Sparklemuffin. She brought this body of work to life with the album’s Executive Producer, Eli Hirsch, as well as Jonathan Rado (Weyes Blood, Father John Misty, Beyonce), Brad Cook (Bon Iver, War on Drugs, Snail Mail), Greg Gonzalez (Cigarettes After Sex), Rick Nowels (James Blake, Lana del Rey), and Natalie Findlay and Jules Apollinaire of the band Ttrruuces (with whom she co-wrote “Good Looking”).
All Music says Memoir of a Sparklemuffin is “A dramatic, double-length sophomore LP that puts the musician/actress in the company of artists like Lana Del Rey and Angel Olsen” (4 Stars). The Line of Best Fitsays, “Waterhouse offers an immersive journey through the corners of her mind. With stylings reminiscent of Lana Del Rey and Wolf Alice, it’s a messy yet beautiful array of diary-like confessions that weave between cutting balladry and defiant pop-rock.”
The praise for Memoir of a Sparklemuffin also led to Suki’s late-night TV debut performance of “Model, Actress, Whatever” on Jimmy Kimmel Live in October, and more recently, an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, with a rousing performance of “My Fun.”
