La Luz (band)

La Luz is an American rock band from Seattle, founded in 2012 by Shana Cleveland, Marian Li Pino, Alice Sandahl, and Abbey Blackwell. La Luz has received critical acclaim following the release of four studio albums on Hardly Art: It's Alive, Weirdo Shrine, Floating Features, the self-titled La Luz and News of the Universe on Sub Pop.

La Luz is known for their "surf noir" style, with layered vocal harmonies. Their energetic live shows often include Soul Train–inspired dance contests and crowd surfing.

History
Shana Cleveland and Marian Li Pino (former members of Seattle band The Curious Mystery) formed La Luz in Seattle, Washington, with Alice Sandahl and bassist Abbey Blackwell after being inspired by surf and rock and roll acts like Link Wray, The Ventures, and Dick Dale, as well as girl groups like The Shirelles. The band name comes from the Spanish for "the light". Cleveland has cited Japanese guitar player Takeshi Terauchi as her biggest guitar influence. After releasing an EP titled Damp Face in 2012, La Luz signed with Hardly Art. They released their first full-length album, It's Alive, on Hardly Art in October 2013.

On tour supporting of Montreal, La Luz was involved in a serious automobile accident on November 5, 2013, while traveling from Boise, Idaho, to Seattle, when their tour van slipped on black ice. After crashing into a highway divider, the van was hit by a semi-trailer truck. Band members sustained injuries, and all of the instruments and merchandise were destroyed with the tour van and trailer, forcing them to cancel the remainder of the tour.

In February 2014, bassist Abbey Blackwell left the group, and was replaced by Lena Simon. In August 2015, La Luz released their second album, Weirdo Shrine, again through Hardly Art. Produced by Ty Segall, the album was more live-sounding than previous efforts, and featured heavy fuzz guitar. Weirdo Shrine received positive reviews in The Guardian, Pitchfork, and The New York Times, and the group embarked on an international tour to support its release. They moved from Seattle to Los Angeles later that year.

In February 2024, Alice Sandahl announced her departure from the band and that she was being replaced by musician and producer Maryam Qudus, who has previously performed under the name Spacemoth. Nearly this time, Lena Simmon was replaced by Lee Johnson on bass guitar. These lineup changes (especially with Maryam Qudus) allowed to develop band's music style using electronic effects and arpeggiarors in some songs. The next album News of the Universe was released in May 24 later that year by Sub Pop.

Band members
Current
 * Shana Cleveland – guitar, lead vocals (2012–present)
 * Audrey Johnson – drums, backing vocals (2021–present)
 * Maryam Qudus – keyboard, backing vocals (2024–present)
 * Lee Johnson – bass, backing vocals (2024–present)

Former
 * Alice Sandahl – keyboard, backing vocals (2012–2024)
 * Lena Simon – bass, backing vocals (2014–2024)
 * Marian Li Pino – drums, backing vocals (2012–2019)
 * Abbey Blackwell – bass, backing vocals (2012–2014)

Live albums

 * Live from the Black Hole (self-released, 2021)

Instrumental albums

 * La Luz Instrumentals (Hardly Art, 2022)