Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session: La Luz

La Luz | Photo by Katie Tapman for WXPN

Joining us in the studio for this Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session is the surf-pop combo La Luz. Ever since the 2013 arrival of their aptly-titled debut album, It’s Alive, La Luz have charted a focused course through the worlds of garage rock. Formed by guitarist Shana Cleveland, bassist Lena Simon, drummer Marian Li Pino and keyboardist Alice Sandahl, La Luz recently released Floating Features, their third LP for Seattle label Hardly Art. Collaborating with Dan Auerbach, La Luz are in their element on Floating Features, which showcases the band’s deft instrumentation and otherworldly harmonies. While on tour, the group (temporarily operating as a trio without Sandahl) stopped by our studios to perform some of the new songs live.

Like the entry of the gladiators, La Luz set the stage for their session with the album’s instrumental title song. Cleveland’s chiming guitar locks in with Simon’s nimble bass while Li Pino crashes out a stop-start beat. The jittery “Cicada” comes next, our first showcase of La Luz’s trademark harmonies. A glissando from a harp (that I don’t recall loading into the studio but must’ve been there) underscores the pastoral “Mean Dream.” The session concludes with a web-exclusive performance of the motorik-driven “California Finally,” again giving the band the space to explore the outer limits of their instruments.

Listen to La Luz’s full Indie Rock Hit Parade session below, and check out Katie Tapman’s photos from the studio. Also, if you’re planning on travelling to Europe last this year, have a look at the band’s upcoming tour dates.

La Luz in Europe:
Sat, Sep 1- Soundrive Festival Gdansk, Poland
Tue, Sep 4 – Plan B (SE) Malmö, Sweden
Wed, Sep 5 – Revolver Oslo, Norway
Thu, Sep 6 – Melodybox Stockholm, Sweden
Fri, Sep 7 – Pustervik Gothenburg, Sweden
Sat, Sep 8 – Loppen Copenhagen, Denmark
Mon, Sep 10 – Kohi Karlsruhe, Germany
Tue, Sep 11 – Rote Fabrik Zurich , Switzerland
Wed, Sep 12 – Le Rockstore Montpellier, France
Thu, Sep 13 – Gambeat Festival Barcelona, Spain
Fri, Sep 14 – GetMAD Madrid, Spain
Sat, Sep 15 – Donostia Festibala San Sebastian, Spain
Tue, Sep 18 – Le Romandie Lausanne, Switzerland
Wed, Sep 19 – ISC Club Bern, Switzerland
Thu, Sep 20- Point Ephemere Paris, France
Fri, Sep 21 – Levitation France Angers, France
Sat, Sep 22- Botanique Brussels, Belgium
Mon, Sep 24 – Soup Kitchen Manchester, United Kingdom
Tue, Sep 25 – Mono (Glasgow) Glasgow, United Kingdom
Wed, Sep 26 – Brudenell Social Club Leeds, United Kingdom
Thu, Sep 27 – The Dome London, United Kingdom
Fri, Sep 28 – Exchange (UK) Bristol, United Kingdom
Sat, Sep 29 – The Hope and Ruin Brighton, United Kingdom
Mon, Oct 1 – Bumann & Sohn Cologne, Germany
Tue, Oct 2 – Musik & Frieden Berlin, Germany
Wed, Oct 3 – Beatpol Dresden, Germany
Thu, Oct 4 – Hafenklang Hamburg, Germany
Fri, Oct 5 – Vera Groningen, Netherlands
Sat, Oct 6 – Paradiso (Upstairs) Amsterdam, Netherlands