A Station for Everyone
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

First Watch: Luluc

My number one fave album of 2014 was by Luluc. It's called Passerby. I've waited four years for a followup. Now the new album is out, it's called Sculptor and The Australian duo of Zoe Randell and Steve Hassett haven't let me down. In fact, their quiet sound has only gotten stronger, with Steve Hassett taking us on sonic adventures with a wider array of instruments than on previous records. The album is co-produced by The National's Aaron Dessner. For this song, "Kids," they added Logan Coale on bass and Jason Bemis Lawrence on drums and you can watch them all perform it in this new video.

This song, framed by its opening line, "Small town minds / They don't bother you anymore," is a quiet anthem for teens searching for their place in life, and also for the role music plays in shaping one's personality - at least that's the way I see it.

The video was directed by Katie Mitchell. Luluc's Zoe Randell, who wrote the lyrics and sings this song, says in an email that Katie Mitchell "is a close friend and an amazing, Emmy-nominated documentary film maker. We love how she captures people telling their story in her films, and given this song is in some ways autobiographical, we thought she would be the perfect person to film us performing the song. There is a visual nod to Bowie and Iggy in the clip, two figures whose music helped navigate the world described."

Luluc will be on tour with J. Mascis who also plays on Sculptor. They'll also be supporting label-mates Blitzen Trapper. Sculptor is out now on Sub Pop.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.