After four years without a new album, Lower Dens recently announced its return with The Competition, which is set to drop on September 6. Now the group has shared the latest taste of the album, a new song called “Galapagos.”
The single is a meditative dream-pop tune that’s well in line with the anthemic wonder Lower Dens have proven themselves capable of delivering. The track is lyrically minimal, but vocalist Jana Hunter is still saying a lot, with lyrics about acceptance and a sense of belonging: “If we see your heart / Really pumping / Well, alright / You belong here / If you feel distressed / That’s okay, too / My love / We want you here.”
Hunter says of the album, “The issues that have shaped my life, for better or for worse, have to do with coming from a family and a culture that totally bought into this competitive mindset. I was wild and in a lot of pain as a kid; home life was very bleak, and pop songs were a guaranteed escape to a mental space where beauty, wonder, and love were possible. I wanted to write songs that might have the potential to do that.”
Hunter also recently offered an introduction to those not familiar with Lower Dens, tweeting, “hi I’m Jana I play in a band it’s like idk kind of ’80s. we play synthesizers. I sing. sometimes it’s also sad? but like also very intense?!? and you can dance to it????”
hi I'm Jana I play in a band it's like idk kind of '80s. we play synthesizers. I sing. sometimes it's also sad? but like also very intense?!? and you can dance to it????
— Lower Dens (@lowerdens) August 15, 2019
Listen to “Galapagos” above.
The Competition is out 9/6 via Ribbon Music. Pre-order it here.
