Lucius returns with discofied new song “Next To Normal,” Fillmore date in May

Lately we’ve been hearing the voices of Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe as side players on acclaimed albums — Brandi Carlile’s In These Silent Days, The War on Drugs’ I Don’t Live Here Anymore — but this year they’re returning to the spotlight as Lucius.

This April the band will release its third LP, and first since 2016, Second Nature. Produced by Carlile as well as Dave Cobb, it’s out April 8th on RCA Records, and according to the band’s announcement today, will thematically focus on big changes on the rocky road of life: becoming a parent, ending a marriage, and encountering career roadblocks.

“It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them,” says Wolfe in a press release. “It touches upon all these stages of grief—and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness.”

To that end, the album’s lead single — “Next To Normal” — is a vibrant discofied pop jam; watch its colorful and prismatic music video below. In addition to their bandmates in Lucius — guitarist Peter Lalish, drummer Dan Molad — the record features guests like Sheryl Crow on backing vocals, along with Carlile herself.

“Lucius has been one of my favorite bands since their first studio album,” Carlile says. “I kept running into them at festivals and finding myself mystified by their power. This album feels like home to me and anyone growing up surrounded by 80s and 90s pop, but somehow Second Nature is the beginning of a new era—not just for Lucius, but for all of us.”

The band also charted its 2022 tour in support of Second Nature, which features a May 7 date at The Fillmore Philadelphia. Tickets and more information can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar, full tour schedule can be found below. Preorder Second Nature here and watch “Next To Normal” below.

Tour Dates
April 28—North Adams, MA—MASS MoCA
April 29—Boston, MA—Roadrunner
April 30—Portland, ME—State Theatre
May 4—New York, NY—Beacon Theatre*
May 6—Montclair, NJ—The Wellmont Theater*
May 7—Philadelphia, PA—The Fillmore*
May 9—Washington, DC—9:30 Club*
May 12—Raleigh, NC—The Ritz*
May 13—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse*
May 14—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium*
May 16—Louisville, KY—Headliners*
May 17—Cleveland, OH—Beachland Ballroom*
May 18—Toronto, ON—Danforth Music Hall*
May 20—Chicago, IL—Riviera Theatre*
May 21—St. Paul, MN—Palace Theatre*
*with support from Celisse

opening for Brandi Carlile
June 11—George, WA—Gorge Amphitheatre
June 24—Los Angeles, CA—The Greek Theatre
July 8—Nashville, TN—Ascend Amphitheatre
July 9—Nashville, TN—Ascend Amphitheatre
September 9— Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Europrean tour
September 17—Dublin, Ireland—Button Factory
September 18—Glasgow, U.K.—St. Luke’s
September 20—Leeds, U.K.—Brudenell Social Club
September 23—London, U.K.—Shepherd’s Bush Empire
September 25—Brussels, Belgium—Grand Salon Botanique
September 26—Paris, France—La Maroquinerie
September 28—Berlin, Germany—Badehaus Szimpla
September 29—Amsterdam, Netherlands—Paradiso Noord