Laveda

New York dream-pop duo - LAVEDA - return with a scintillating new single: “Surprise”.

 

Chewing through a gauzy blend of 90s-tinted driving guitars, ethereal vocals and glimmering melodies, “Surprise” arrives as another glimpse into Laveda’s awaited second LP ‘A Place You Grew Up In’, due early next year. 

Bringing to mind the likes of Alvvays, Soccer Mommy, Big Thief or My Bloody Valentine, the track is a  hazy slice of feel-good dream-pop with a bitter sting in its tail. “Surprise” is gauzy and glittering with sun-drenched rhythms — but its lyrics take a darker turn. 

Jake Brooks explains:

“The lyrics are meant to juxtapose the happy sunshine feeling throughout the song. “Surprise” is about dealing with loneliness and loss in this modern age. The overall sound represents how bright and happy we present ourselves on social media. But in reality, everyone’s depressed and stressed over the rapidly devolving state of society.” 

With murky, despondent lyricism at odds with its upbeat aura, the track taps into the listlessness and loneliness that comes along with young adulthood. Vocalist Ali Genevich adds:

“”Sonically, “Surprise” is the bright song on the new record. Lyrically it embodies a lot of my personal feelings that came after I graduated from college in the same year the pandemic hit. I couldn’t help but feel low for a while, and once I came out of my writer’s block everything I wrote had this big sad mood.” 

Following on from earlier single “bb”, the track arrives as another gleaming glimpse into the band’s awaited second LP. With much of the record tracking completed in the summer of 2021 while staying on a ranch just outside of Los Angeles, Genevich says:

“I think recording the album was a very therapeutic process, and it helped us find some new meaning in a lot of the songs. It definitely did for “Surprise”.”

Featuring Laveda’s full live band, including Dan Carr (bass) and Joe Taruone (drums), ‘A Place You Grew Up In’ was produced by Dylan Herman (Beck, Pynkie) and is set for release on VT/NY-based label PaperCup Music early next year.

Founded by duo Ali Genevich (Vocals/Guitar) and Jake Brooks (Vocals/Guitar/Synths), Laveda released their polished and ethereal debut album in 2020. As complex as it was colourful, ‘What Happens After’ saw the band compared to the likes of The Sundays and My Bloody Valentine and attracted glowing praise across the US and beyond. 

NYC’s Look At My Records! lauded the two-piece as “a young band with a fully realised voice and perspective,” while Toronto-based music blog Ohestee also praised the release, writing: “Jacob Brooks and Ali Genevich explore the great yawning unknown. From the freedom and uncertainty that rests at your fingertips or the distant and possibly desolate future, they capture adolescent restlessness with big walls of sound and a dreamy melodious warble.” 

With a prestigious slot at SXSW and a Spring US tour already under their belts this year, Laveda will be hitting the road once more this Autumn on a 28-date US headline run.