Another day, another unexpected album-length collaboration featuring an eclectic range of rock musicians spanning multiple generations. This fall will see the release of the debut album from the team of The Cure keyboardist Lol Tolhurst, Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer Budgie, and super-producer Jacknife Lee. Los Angeles is set for a November 3 release, and the 13-track collection will feature a broad spectrum of guest artists (many of whom have recently worked with Lee) including Tolhurst and Budgie’s peers The Edge (U2) and Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream), ’00s-era indie rockers James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), and present-day music-fest show-stealers Arrow de Wilde (Starcrawler) and Mark Bowen (IDLES), as well as new-age songwriters Mary Lattimore and Lonnie Holley.
The album’s rollout kicks off today with the release of the title track, which sees James Murphy taking lead vocals on an ominous, six-and-a-half-minute joyride through the seedy streets of Los Angeles. As with most media with LA as its subject, the track is a leery celebration of the lonely city, pairing its tensely building, synth-laced instrumental with wary lyrics (“Los Angeles eats its children,” Murphy belts out in the opening line). In other words, LA he loves you, but you’re bringing him down.
Check out the visual for the track below, and pre-order Los Angeles before it drops November 3 via Play It Again Sam here.
