Luna Shadows Wrestles With Nostalgia in New Single “little rituals”
☆ BY Kristian Gonzales ☆
Photo by Shayla Lee
IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAINTY — nostalgia can be a hell of a drug. Whether it’s through tribulations with family, work, or the crossroads of the future, the thoughts of “the good old days” can cloud your clarity when it comes to making the best out of a situation. Even with her breakthrough as an emerging face in the alternative pop landscape, Luna Shadows isn’t afraid to admit that she has her “one foot forward and two steps back” moments. Pulling back the curtains on her ups and downs, the LA-based singer-songwriter trades in her electro-pop sound for indie folk rock as she releases her new single “little rituals,” off her soon-to-be-announced sophomore LP.
Shadows wrestles with the melancholic allure of romanticizing the past as she croons with a sense of yearning mixed with ambivalence. Combined with the track’s crunch of electric guitars and pounding percussion, she wields the power of escapism as she sings “Ooh, take my pain away / Wait, give it all back / I want it all back.” In the self-directed video, Shadows embraces the moment of emotional catharsis as she frolics in the mountains of Topanga, CA to the sunny groove of the song.
“‘Little rituals’ is about experiencing all of your emotions in high-definition — the good and the bad,” Shadows explains. “It’s a song about understanding that to feel the highs, you have to accept the lows. I read some Sylvia Plath and hopped on Zoom with my collaborator Bradley Hale (Now, Now) to write a long-lost ’70s-style summer song about what it means to find joy again, after sadness and stillness.”
The song also features a guitar solo from Shadows, a first for the artist. “[It’s] the first of several on my upcoming record,” she shares. “My primary instrument is piano and for years I’ve been fairly content as a rhythm guitarist floating in the background — but I decided to step into the limelight for this LP and to focus on joy instead of virtuosity."
Coming off her 2021 debut LP Digital Pacific, which examined her experiences dealing with disillusionment, self-affirmation, and anxiety through a technology-based perspective, Luna Shadows continues the good fight against moments of darkness in life. Contrasting the sophomore LP’s first single, “witches brew”, which tackles the uncomfortable reality of the ostracization of free-spirited women through her battles with depression, “little rituals” marks a spiritual rebound for Shadows as she continues to aim to be her best self.
