Shana Cleveland opens up on the new La Luz album and being cancer-free: “Through this darkness”
It’s been three years since La Luz released their last album. On May 24th, they returned with their latest opus, News of the Universe, a masterful record that finds the group in a new space. The haunting but intoxicating blend of surf, doo-wop and psychedelia remains, but it is rejuvenated by lineup changes and, more importantly, underpinned by the monumental personal battles of leader Shana Cleveland.
In January 2022, La Luz announced that Cleveland had been diagnosed with breast cancer, followed by cancelled tour dates and the vocalist undergoing surgery. In March of that year, when publicising withdrawn shows, the band optimistically reported that the doctors believed the vocalist was finished with active treatment and could find no further evidence of the disease.
In true form, they hit the road later that year, but further obstacles occurred in positive Covid-19 tests and more cancelled dates. Not ones for turning, in December, La Luz revealed they were working on a new album, and although it would be a while before fans heard it, they were excited.
News of the Universe has been worth the wait. To discuss the record and her recent challenges, I spoke to Cleveland over Zoom. Unsurprisingly, she was in a good place, excited about the album, and in agreement that the new opus is potentially the best one yet. She says: “I love all of our records, but this is the one I’m the most excited about. I just haven’t stopped listening to it since we recorded it. I still feel really excited about it every time. Hopefully, it finds the people it’s supposed to find.”
The record is also noteworthy as it’s La Luz’s first on Sub Pop. They had technically been working with them for a decade through the subsidiary Hardly Art, who released all their previous efforts, but now they’ve taken the step up. Although she hasn’t asked Sub Pop why they’ve been signed, she has her “theories”, including News of the Universe representing a step forward: “I think we proved something to them.”
I last spoke to Cleveland in February 2023, a month before her excellent solo effort, Manzanita arrived. It was a candid discussion largely centred on the album’s theme of becoming a mother for the first time after giving birth to her son, Ozzy, in 2019. When asked about the journey since then, the line of inquiry was bolstered by La Luz releasing the News of the Universe single ‘Poppies’, which is about her battle with cancer and the moment the light finally pierces the dark.
She explains: “I’m in a good place right now. It’s hard to talk about that whole experience because it was so just so heavy, and I feel like I lost my mind during it. It was just so much, with so much anxiety.”
When Cleveland was writing songs for the new effort – by herself and with the band – it was when she was emerging “out of the other side” of her diagnosis. This adds immense weight to the record for her: “I can hear where I was at, which was a moment of real openness and vulnerability, but also very powerful, because I felt like I had come through something that was so difficult, and I was here and ready to dive into that darkness without fear.”
She continues: “That’s why I love this record so much. To me, it feels very honest because I was in a place where I had been laid so low by depression and anxiety that I was ready to tear everything up.” Cleveland notes her guitar as an aspect where this sentiment manifests, likening it to “exercising demons”.
She adds: “It’s a very optimistic record because I can come through this darkness and be stronger for it.”
While Manzanita and News of the Universe were written at different times, with the former penned before the diagnosis and arriving after it, they do have some similarities in what they represent. Cleveland reveals: “Going through cancer and giving birth had similar effects on my life. They were both so transformative. Both of these albums feel like very major life albums for me.”
Cleveland is quick to praise her band for guiding her through the dark. After the diagnosis and the cancelled tours, she doubts whether she’d have been able to push on and write, given how immensely depressing everything was. Yet, their manager suggested they come together and write an album despite the snags. With their help, she worked through the doubt, and because of such unease, the music appeared rawer, which Cleveland is “so glad” for.
Working with producer Maryam Qudos, who is now in the band – replacing keyboardist Alice Sandahl – also added to the rejuvenated feel. She brought creativity and confidence to the studio, throwing her ideas into the artistic milieu.
News of the Universe is a strange offering in that it marks the first appearances of Qudos and drummer Audrey Johnson and the final ones for Sandahl and bassist Lena Simon – a bridge between La Luz’s past and future. Cleveland maintains that there was “nothing exciting” behind the departures; it’s just hard to be in a band for a long time. “Maybe if it’s Metallica or The Rolling Stones, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I can just ride this out for the rest of my life.’ You know?” she laughs. “But when you’re in a band that tours in a van, people don’t want to do that forever.”
However, this lifestyle choice is a no-brainer for Cleveland; she loves her craft, and perhaps more so than before. Furthermore, having new blood injects “invaluable” energy into the project, making the outgoings a blessing in disguise. Cleveland excitedly notes that the new members have never toured Europe, so sharing that formative experience with them will be special.
‘Blue Jay’, the closing track of News of the Universe, is particularly affecting. Featuring solely Cleveland, descanting a dreamy melody, a wistful acoustic guitar, and the chorus line of “I lost control / But I never had it / nothing will be the same,” it quite obviously references her battle. She reveals she wrote it for Ozzy as a form of lullaby: “The hardest thing about the whole cancer diagnosis was thinking, ‘Would he even remember me If I died from this?'”
“Of course, I didn’t die from it, and everything turned out fine, but it was months before I had any clarity about how bad things were going to be,” she explains. That was the most challenging part of the ordeal: receiving the diagnosis but living with such immense uncertainty about the future. Naturally, being on the precipice made her consider attachment and love and whether love could exist without attachment. This thought stoked ‘Blue Jay’.
She sincerely opens up: “I wrote the song about wanting so much to just be with him forever, and knowing that that was not going to be the case, and not even knowing how long we would have.” Despite this grave solemnity, though, she strove to craft a comforting paean in the face of darkness.
Only days before our chat, Cleveland had received the all-clear. She had already felt optimistic about her biological state, but to actually hear that declaration with an album release and tours on the horizon enlivened the La Luz frontwoman. “OK, here we go,” she joyously thought to herself.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that receiving such vital news would reconstitute total confidence. Objectively, though, things are always less black and white, with both freedom and unease earned from Cleveland’s experience.
She candidly concludes: “When you get a diagnosis like that, out of nowhere, it’s hard to feel certain about anything, ever again. So, I definitely feel very uncertain about the future. But I feel more at peace with that concept than I ever have. I’m excited because there’s a comfort in being able to let go of expectations. I’m learning how to become less attached to everything; there’s a lot of freedom in that.”
