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“...while the group make much of this being a 'new era' there are still plenty of moments that conjure nostalgic, dreamy biss.” - MOJO
"The album brings us back to their sun-kissed California psych sounds once again, but this time with equal twists of clipped electronica and field recordings" - LOUDER THAN WAR
"embraces the pugnacious monotony of late ‘80s Lou Reed ... and reassures that they have not altogether lost interest in sun-splashed psychedelia" - UNCUT
“Surreal” - MXDWN on “Right On Time”
The Los Angeles-based Allah-Las released their new album, Zuma 85 via their own label, Calico Discos, in partnership with Innovative Leisure, which issued earlier defining statements from the band. In 2020, following the release of their album LAHS, the band members stepped away to refocus on their individual lives and interests, leading them to reimagine their creative processes. When they eventually regrouped, they adopted a more flexible approach. Instead of bringing fully finished songs to the studio, they entered the idyllic Panoramic House Studio in Stinson Beach armed with sketches, ideas, and riffs. Working with co-producer Jeremy Harris (White Fence, Devendra Banhart, Ty Segall) they shaped and crafted the new songs in real time over three sessions, which were then mixed in Los Angeles by frequent collaborator Jarvis Taveniere (Woods, Avalanches, Purple Mountains). The end result, Zuma 85, finds the band embracing the influences of late-era Lou Reed and John Cale, the ‘70s mutant pop of Peter Ivers and early Eno and Roxy Music.
In ten days the Allah-Las will kick off their first U.S. tour in support of Zuma 85 with a show in Phoenix, AZ on October 23. The tour also includes a two-night stand with Reverberation Radio at Lodge Room in Los Angeles on November 15 (with Mirror Tree and Kolumbo as support) and November 16 (with Tim Hall and Sam Burton as support), as well as stops in Denver, Dallas, and Seattle before concluding November 18 in San Francisco, CA. Following the U.S. run the band head to Australia in December. All announced shows are listed below and tickets are available here.
Leading to today’s release the Allah-Las teased the album with videos for four of Zuma 85’s singles, “Sky Club,” “Right On Time, The Stuff,” and Dust” and they saw support from Under The Radar, Brooklyn Vegan, Austin Town Hall, Buzzbands LA, MXDWN, The Big Takeover, MOJO and Ghettoblaster, among others. Today the band revealed two additional visuals - “The Fall,” music video which was animated and directed by Mark Neeley and “Jelly,” visualizer which was created with help from Farmer Dave. On his animation for “The Fall” Mark writes, "the video includes a lot of watercolor and fresh ink directly on paper, it's a juxtaposition of abstract and animating some of the song's narrative. I have always admired the careful curation of visual art that accompanies the music of Allah-Las, and I hope my analogue animation adds another dimension to that".