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"I was in a dream, but now I see that change is the only law."
With a credo adapted from science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, an album title from a collection of metaphysical poetry, and an expansion of consciousness brought on by a personal crisis, guitarist and songwriter Shana Cleveland learns to embrace a changing world with unconditional love on News of the Universe, the new album from California rock band La Luz.
News of the Universe is an album born of adversity, a work of dark, beautiful psychedelia that reflects Cleveland's experience of having her world turned upside down by a breast cancer diagnosis just two years after the birth of her son. It's also a portrait of a band in transition, marking the first appearance of drummer Audrey Johnson and the last of longtime members, bassist Lena Simon and keyboardist Alice Sandahl, whose contributions add a bittersweet touch to a record that's both an elegy for an old world and a cosmic map for a strange new one.
Unashamedly vulnerable, unabashedly feminine and undeniably triumphant, News of the Universe is another stunning record from a band so reliably great that people may have overlooked just how groundbreaking La Luz really are: women of color in indie music blazing their own trail, following their own artistic star into galaxies beyond current musical trends, always guided by a sincere belief in the cosmic power of love and a great riff. Never is this more true than on "News of the Universe", perhaps La Luz's most brutal album, but also their happiest. After all, how could it be otherwise?