La Luz is a California rock band known for their seamless blend of swaggering riffs, angelic harmonies, and a signature mix of bedlam and bliss. Formed by Shana Cleveland in 2012, the band has consistently pushed their sound forward, balancing garage rock, doo-wop, folk, and psychedelia with a deeply personal and cosmic sensibility.

Their latest album, News of the Universe, is a record born of calamity—written in the wake of Cleveland’s breast cancer diagnosis. It captures the chaos of change in all its beauty, marking a transition for the band with the introduction of drummer Audrey Johnson and the final appearances of longtime members Lena Simon and Alice Sandahl.

Produced by Maryam Qudus (Spacemoth) in an all-female creative environment, News of the Universe is urgent, vulnerable, and triumphant. Sonically, it trips over itself in a rush of cosmic psychedelia, from the baroque pop of “Poppies” to the shimmery reverie of “Blue Moth Cloud Shadow” and the sludgy-to-soaring “I’ll Go With You.”

With a credo adapted from Octavia E. Butler, the album embraces change as the only constant, forging a path beyond trends, led by love, survival, and the power of a great riff.