When we last checked in with Vermont-via-Minnesota songwriter Lutalo last summer, they were contemplating the difficulties of life in America as a marginalized individual. Yet with their debut album right around the corner, that scope has expanded a bit, as heard on the latest single from The Academy, “Summit Hill,” which considers the fading clarity of the American dream more broadly. With Nick Drake’s sense of chamber-folk simplicity, Lutalo looks back on their youth at a boarding school in an upscale neighborhood, which they often wandered with a classmate from a similarly low-income background.
“I recently headed back to Minnesota to catch up with my best friend’s father,” Lutalo explains of the song’s origin, “to talk the concept of the song through and to walk that same old route through with him—even though our goals and ambitions have both changed dramatically since the first time I took a walk with my best friend, his son. It felt like a real full-circle moment.”
Check out the wistful, acoustic-led composition below, and pre-order The Academy before it arrives September 20 via Winspear here. Additionally, Lutalo will be hitting the road at the end of the month in support of the new record—find their upcoming dates with Nilüfer Yanya here.
