# La Luz (band)
**La Luz**, whose name is Spanish for "the light", is a Seattle-based American group playing surf rock and psychedelic pop that singer and guitarist Shana Cleveland started in 2012.[1](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/la-luz-interview-shana-cleveland/) • [2](https://www.eventworld.com/la-luz-tickets/performer/12613) The group blends surf guitar, doo-wop and girl-group harmonies, and garage rock; critics have summarized its sound as "the Shangri-Las get high and go surfing."[1](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/la-luz-interview-shana-cleveland/) • [3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14906-la-luz-sure-as-spring/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed in Seattle in 2012 by Shana Cleveland, formerly of the psych rock band the Curious Mystery[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-luz-mn0003080086) |
| Name | La Luz means "the light" in Spanish[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-luz-mn0003080086) |
| Original lineup | Shana Cleveland (guitar, vocals), Alice Sandahl (keys), Abbey Blackwell (bass), Marian Li Pino (drums), with all four sharing vocals[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-luz-mn0003080086) |
| First releases | EP *Damp Face* (2012, Burger Records), recorded in a trailer in Bothell, Washington; debut album *It's Alive* (2013, Hardly Art)[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14906-la-luz-sure-as-spring/) • [5](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/discovery-la-luz) |
| Later albums | *Weirdo Shrine* (2015, produced by Ty Segall); *Floating Features* (2018); *La Luz* (2021, produced by Adrian Younge); *News of the Universe* (2024, Sub Pop, produced by Maryam Qudus)[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/20/la-luz-review-hug-and-pint-glasgow-seattle-surf-rock-and-pop) • [1](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/la-luz-interview-shana-cleveland/) |
| Current status | Cleveland is the sole founding member remaining; the band relocated to California[7](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/05/la-luz-news-of-the-universe-review/) • [8](https://www.subpop.com/artists/la_luz) |
## Formation and early years
In 2012, [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland) recruited her former bandmate from the Curious Mystery, drummer Marian Li Pino, to form La Luz with keyboardist Alice Sandahl and bassist Abbey Blackwell, all four members sharing vocals.[1](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/la-luz-interview-shana-cleveland/) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-luz-mn0003080086) Cleveland said she started the band because she felt there was a band she was dying to see but could not find anywhere.[5](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/discovery-la-luz)
The quartet released the four-song EP *Damp Face* on Burger Records in 2012, recorded quickly, in an afternoon, in a trailer in the exurb of Bothell, Washington.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14906-la-luz-sure-as-spring/) • [5](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/discovery-la-luz) Its debut album, *It's Alive*, followed on Hardly Art (a [Sub Pop](https://www.edgepedia.org/sub-pop) imprint) in 2013.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-luz-mn0003080086) • [9](https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2013/10/a-fiendish-conversation-with-la-luzs-shana-cleveland-october-2013) The band's early shows drew a fast-growing Seattle following, selling out the city's DIY spaces.[10](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/news/a23865/la-luz-band-interview/)
**The dark undertow.** Critics noticed early that the band's surf style carried a darker streak than the genre's usual sunny associations; its short, sharp songs are minor-chord heavy, and Cleveland's lyrics frequently touch on death.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/20/la-luz-review-hug-and-pint-glasgow-seattle-surf-rock-and-pop) In 2013 a terrifying tour van crash destroyed all of the band's gear and very nearly killed the members.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/20/la-luz-review-hug-and-pint-glasgow-seattle-surf-rock-and-pop)
## Sound and critical reception
The band's signature sound combines woozy, reverb-heavy surf guitar with throbbing basslines, multi-part vocal harmonies, and keyboard and organ.[1](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/la-luz-interview-shana-cleveland/) A Pitchfork review of "Sure as Spring" described the group as writing "garage rock nuggets with woozy, sun-kissed harmonies," noting Cleveland's sharp, hooky songcraft.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14906-la-luz-sure-as-spring/) A Guardian review of a 2015 Glasgow show called the band a first-rate party band with a sinister undertow, and highlighted the four-part "doom-wop" harmonies, a label Cleveland herself found appropriate.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/20/la-luz-review-hug-and-pint-glasgow-seattle-surf-rock-and-pop) • [11](https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/la-luz-doom-wop-duality?page=1)
Over successive records the surf element receded in favor of fuller psychedelic rock: AllMusic describes 2018's *Floating Features* as more muscular, the 2021 self-titled album as full-fledged psych rock with attention to space and dynamics, and 2024's *News of the Universe* as advancing the psychedelic leanings further.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-luz-mn0003080086) Cleveland has said the sound evolved as the band members got to know each other and became more collaborative, moving away from a strict surf-guitar-doo-wop style.[12](https://atwoodmagazine.com/lluz-la-luz-interview-music-2021/)
## Lineup changes and relocation
Bassist Abbey Blackwell left in the aftermath of the early touring period; by March 2014 the band had recruited Lena Simon as her replacement.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-luz-mn0003080086) In 2016 the band left Seattle, where its label Hardly Art resides, and moved to Los Angeles; the first album recorded after the move was *Floating Features* (2018).[13](https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2018/05/la-luz-s-shana-cleveland-talks-la-nightmares-and-seattle-show-vibes) Li Pino left the band in 2019, leaving Cleveland and Sandahl as the only remaining original members going into *News of the Universe*.[1](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/la-luz-interview-shana-cleveland/)
## Recent work
The self-titled 2021 album *La Luz* was produced by Adrian Younge, a producer the band approached as fans.[1](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/la-luz-interview-shana-cleveland/) • [12](https://atwoodmagazine.com/lluz-la-luz-interview-music-2021/) Its recording was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic: the band recorded about half the demos in December 2019, then worked out the remainder remotely over email and [Zoom](https://www.edgepedia.org/zoom-software) calls.[14](https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/la_luz_shana_cleveland_on_the_bands_new_self_titled_album)
*News of the Universe* (2024), the band's first album for Sub Pop, was produced by Maryam Qudus, who records solo music as Spacemoth; the collaboration went well enough that Qudus joined the band as its new keyboardist.[8](https://www.subpop.com/artists/la_luz) • [15](https://undertheradarmag.com/interviews/my_firsts_shana_cleveland_of_la_luz) The album reflects Cleveland's experience of a breast cancer diagnosis, which came two years after the birth of her son and shortly after the release of the 2021 album; it also marks the first appearance of drummer Audrey Johnson and the final appearances of bassist Lena Simon and keyboardist Alice Sandahl.[8](https://www.subpop.com/artists/la_luz) SPIN's review described it as robust, controlled psych-pop that threads krautrock, prog, vintage synth-pop, New Wave, and 1970s pop-rock through the band's psychedelic core.[7](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/05/la-luz-news-of-the-universe-review/)
Alongside the band, Cleveland has built a solo career: her 2023 album *Manzanita*, a magical-realist documentation of her pregnancy and early motherhood, appeared on many year-end lists.[7](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/05/la-luz-news-of-the-universe-review/) • [8](https://www.subpop.com/artists/la_luz) The band remains active; ticketing sites list tour dates into 2026, including festival appearances in Mill Valley, Richmond, and Chicago.[16](https://www.bandsintown.com/a/914286-la-luz?came_from=2)
## References
1. [La Luz on embracing change and overcoming adversity, Guitar.com (2024)](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/la-luz-interview-shana-cleveland/)
2. [La Luz Tickets & Tour Dates, Eventworld](https://www.eventworld.com/la-luz-tickets/performer/12613)
3. [La Luz: "Sure as Spring" Track Review, Pitchfork (2013)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14906-la-luz-sure-as-spring/)
4. [La Luz Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-luz-mn0003080086)
5. [Discovery: La Luz, Interview Magazine (2012)](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/discovery-la-luz)
6. [La Luz review, The Guardian (2015)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/20/la-luz-review-hug-and-pint-glasgow-seattle-surf-rock-and-pop)
7. [La Luz: Surfy Harmonies as High Art, SPIN (2024)](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/05/la-luz-news-of-the-universe-review/)
8. [La Luz on Sub Pop Records](https://www.subpop.com/artists/la_luz)
9. [A Fiendish Conversation with La Luz's Shana Cleveland, Seattle Met (2013)](https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2013/10/a-fiendish-conversation-with-la-luzs-shana-cleveland-october-2013)
10. [How Girl Group La Luz's Surf-Rock Sound Is Taking Seattle by Storm, Elle (2013)](https://www.elle.com/culture/music/news/a23865/la-luz-band-interview/)
11. [La Luz: Doom-Wop Duality, Premier Guitar](https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/la-luz-doom-wop-duality?page=1)
12. ["Super True Surf-Guitar-Doo-Wop Sound": An Interview with La Luz, Atwood Magazine (2021)](https://atwoodmagazine.com/lluz-la-luz-interview-music-2021/)
13. [La Luz's Shana Cleveland Talks LA, Nightmares, and Seattle Show Vibes, Seattle Met (2018)](https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2018/05/la-luz-s-shana-cleveland-talks-la-nightmares-and-seattle-show-vibes)
14. [La Luz: Shana Cleveland on the Band's New Self-Titled Album, Under the Radar (2021)](https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/la_luz_shana_cleveland_on_the_bands_new_self_titled_album)
15. [My Firsts: Shana Cleveland of La Luz, Under the Radar](https://undertheradarmag.com/interviews/my_firsts_shana_cleveland_of_la_luz)
16. [La Luz Concerts & Live Tour Dates, Bandsintown](https://www.bandsintown.com/a/914286-la-luz?came_from=2)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Indie and alternative bands › Indie pop bands › American indie and alternative bands › 2010s and later bands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license