The Struts frontman takes an indie pop turn with new track & video
Luke Spiller continues the rollout for his debut solo album with the release of his latest track, “She’s Just Like California,” out alongside an accompanying music video via Big Machine Rock. The new single adds an acoustically-driven, indie-pop note to the forthcoming release of Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine, out on April 25th.
“In some ways, my new record is a concept album,” Spiller explains. “It’s loose, but most of the music is telling the true story of my first-hand experience of moving to LA. ‘She’s Just Like California’ grew into my love letter to the state of California and the city of Los Angeles. It’s a simple love song, but it holds some beautiful imagery within it that still takes me back whenever I hear it. Plus, it’s my mum’s favorite song that I’ve ever written, so it’s got to be good, right?”
In 2019 Spiller found himself in a state of self-inquiry. For over a decade, he’d made a name with the formidable British rock band The Struts — enlisting his retro sonic inspirations, singular vocals, and anthemic songwriting to help boost the group to the top of the charts. But three albums and multiple world tours later, Spiller started to wonder what it would be like to shift in his own direction. The dramatic, avant-garde music he’d grown up with and the unbridled, large songs he wanted to write didn’t seem like a fit for his current project. “It’s been a long time in the making,” he says.
Spiller began to dive deeper into his songwriting, turning his typical writing process on its head. Starting with only lyrics and a title, he crafted material written as poetry – self-expression in its purest form. The resulting songs became his forthcoming debut solo record – an epically cinematic sonic expedition that mirrors a James Bond score and documents all the love, heartbreak, and beauty Spiller first experienced when he moved to Los Angeles.
From the lush opener and title track, “Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine,” to the earnest and heartfelt “She’s Just Like California,” the record is an introduction to a vulnerable, and often publicly hidden, side of the flamboyant frontman.
Freshly uninhibited and entirely unapologetic, Spiller worked alongside producer Jon Levine (Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, Drake) and guitarist/producer Jason Falkner (St. Vincent, Air, Beck) on the ten new tracks that, despite their intimate nature, don’t shy away from bombastic strings and over-the-top orchestration.
