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When Birds Fly West

by Lu Lagoon

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of When Birds Fly West via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    50 copies are currently available. This number does not auto-update.

    Please note that this is a pre-order, and by paying you are reserving your copy with no refunds offered. It should ship around late May to early June but could be later on if delays occur when pressing.

    Also, the first-ever Catapult Recordings release to be on vinyl.

    UPDATE 7/5/23: It is now July and we're incredibly sorry to announce a pressing delay. We're expecting to ship this vinyl in August :(

    Includes unlimited streaming of When Birds Fly West via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      $30 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 8 Lu Lagoon releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of When Birds Fly West, Do I Ever Cross Your Mind, Rosyln, Merry Christmas, Mom, Ram On, Seven Corners, Plant Tattoo (Demo), and Sour (Demo). , and , .

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1.
Blood Moon 03:23
They used to say that all the world’s a stage But now it’s burned down And I can’t say it’s the same for you And for me Its supports’ exposed charcoaled black I supposed you’d like to know where to go from here Where to go from here When the moon turns red And the sky turns black And the water’s brown Then you must turn back When the moon turns red And the sky turns black And the water’s brown Then you must turn back Then you must turn back The sun burns red in the late afternoon Hoping at some point I can breathe clear soon For me and for you The ash weighs heavy on my soul As I wait in line for the election polls I supposed you’d like to know where to go from here When the moon turns red And the sky turns black And the water’s brown Then you must turn back When the moon turns red (When the moon turns red) And the sky turns black (And the sky turns black) And the water’s brown (And the water’s brown) Then you must turn back (Then you must turn back) Then you must turn back When the moon turns red And the sky turns black And the water’s brown Then you must turn back When the moon turns red And the sky turns black And the water’s brown Then you must turn back
2.
Sky Valley 04:23
And all the way To the ranch, we’ll go We’ll go to that place Where the mountains glow The rugs are striped to match our hearts The walls are dressed with fantastic art So much life is here, though no one’s home And all the space that’s free to roam And you’re reading a book And I’m going to bed She’s in her nook And he’s baking bread Oh, oh, ahh And all the way To the ranch, we’ll go We’ll go to that place Where the mountains glow The rugs are striped to match our hearts The walls are dressed with fantastic art So much life is here, though no one’s home And all the space that’s free to roam And you’re reading a book And I’m going to bed She’s in her nook And he’s baking bread Oh, oh, ahh Oh, oh, ahh
3.
How many lives will you take? How many hearts will you break? Till it’s enough for you You took it, you took my pride You ate it, you sucked it dry And all that’s left for you Is a soulless body fit for two You looked me right in the eye And told me you don't want to die And all that’s left for you Is a soulless body fit for two A soulless body A soulless body fit for two
4.
Tired of hearing the same damn thing Stay in your place, don’t spread your wings Swallowing tongues gets too hard Get out your band-aids, heal the scars Strong hearts can do anything Put them together and they will sing Strong hearts Strong hearts Letting things pass, it gets too old We’re so tired of feeling cold Swallowing tongues gets too hard Get out your band-aids, heal the scars Strong hearts can do anything Put them together and they will sing Strong hearts Strong hearts Strong hearts Strong hearts Strong hearts Strong hearts Strong hearts Strong hearts Strong hearts
5.
Lullaby 04:07
Love me through the day Love me through it always Keep my heart instead Carry it to bed Show me something new Hold it closer to you Sing me lullabies Sing me songs of butterflies Kiss me on the cheek Kiss me till I’m weak Show me something new Hold it closer to you Take me on a trip (Take me on a trip) Take me on a ship To the eyes of blue (To the eyes of blue) Where I can be with you Show me something new Hold it closer to you Show me something new Hold it closer to you Mmm, mmm Mmm
6.
7.
Dorothy Moon 04:17
Dorothy Moon You fill the room In the days when I’m with you Jacob Strong You do no wrong In the days when I’m with you It’s time to go to bed So I can rest my head But I’ll still dream of you To help me make it through Janis George You fill my core In the days when I’m with you Penny mac You bring back The memories when I’m with you It’s time to go to bed So I can rest my head But I’ll still dream of you To help me make it through
8.
There’s nothing you can say to get me to go There’s nothing you can do to get me to go home Mmm The tin is falling on the rain roof It’s pretty reflective, but I still see through Ahh, ahh Another day, another night gone by So much time to have reached the goddamn sky The cup is empty, and I wanted more The joints are loose, but they always feel so sore Ooh Ahh, ahh And I said to you “Fortune teller’s gonna carry through” And I said to you “Fortune teller’s gonna carry through” Take me to where the creek runs still Or take me over the sunny rye goat’s hill Mmm The moon shines high, as I call to you The oceans deep, but the water’s still so blue Mmm Ahh, ahh And I said to you “Fortune teller’s gonna carry through” And I said to you “Fortune teller’s gonna carry through”
9.
Never knew how to breathe until I left you Thinking it was my fault, that’s just not true It’s not turbulent I love your earnestness Take me on a ride to nowhere Roll the windows down, so I can feel the air The wind’s without fear Because you’re near Oh, woah Oh And I can’t reach it You left me speechless And I can’t reach it You left me speechless And out of the sky You caught my eye The way you see the world and even, so you fly so high Take deeper breaths Get way more rest The trees are green The sun is high The birds are flying west The deeper the water The brighter it shines But I’ll go places where only you’ll shine And it’s alright now To let it all go I’ll get out my needles, for the stitches we can sew
10.
Do you know the muffin man the muffin man, the muffin man Do you know the muffin man? He lives on Drury Lane Do you know the muffin man the muffin man, the muffin man Do you know the muffin man? He lives on Drury Lane The muffin man, the muffin man He lives on Drury Lane The muffin man, the muffin man He lives on Drury Lane Do you know the muffin man the muffin man, the muffin man Do you know the muffin man? He lives on Drury Lane Do you know the muffin man the muffin man, the muffin man Do you know the muffin man? He lives on Drury Lane The muffin man, the muffin man He lives on Drury Lane The muffin man, the muffin man He lives on Drury Lane The muffin man

about

Lauren Black (she/they), the voice behind the project Lu Lagoon, grew up in Maryland in a family that loved music, which later inspired her to take up songwriting herself. After a demo led her to Catapult Recordings. In 2020, Lu Lagoon, now rounded out by Madison Madeira on guitar (She/they/it), Justin Given on drums (he/they), and Kyle Waggoner on bass (he/him), released Seven Corners. The record became a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, derailing any plans for touring and promoting. For the next year, Black recorded a series of covers, including a Christmas EP in late 2020, while applying her gentle, playful songwriting style to the things she was witnessing around her, politically – voter suppression, environmental issues– and personally, entering a new relationship as the world outside went into disarray. Two years later, she emerged with When Birds Fly West.

When Birds Fly West is simultaneously looser and more refined than its predecessor. Recorded quickly with Skylar McCoy (he/him) of the band Better Weather, it’s a beautiful, playful record. Much like contemporaries Olivia Chaney or Laura Marling, Lauren Black places classic folk tropes in contemporary contexts. Opener “Blood Moon” is a folk song depicting the oncoming threat of climate change and the difficulty of making a difference, all while invoking and subverting Shakespeare: “They used to say that all the world’s a stage/but now it’s burned down.” “Strong Hearts,” written as a tribute to her transgender guitarist Madeira, veers towards classic rock, but that serves the heavier subject matter of fearing for today’s youth.

Personal and political, raw and polished - on When Birds Fly West, those things all naturally co-exist as a result of writing down everyday life. “Fortune Teller” includes segments in ⅞, suggested as a joke by Waggoner, with an inviting mix of tight arrangements and loose performances. At the very end of the record, there’s an impromptu rendition of the nursery rhyme Muffin Man, meant as a tribute to their musical household growing up.

Yet this isn’t a conventionally confessional album. In making this record, Lauren Black embraces the listener's interpretation - they freely admit “Fortune Teller” is writing purely based on feel, while songs like “Lullaby” and “Dorothy Moon” are meant not as exorcisms but to move listeners. You don’t have to know what song is about a friendship breakup and what song is about falling in love again. You don’t have to know how to dance in ⅞ or pick out every individual harmony in the density of “Sky Valley”. You just have to listen and connect, and with a record this eminently likable, finding a connection is inevitable.

When Birds Fly West will be available on April 7, 2023, via Catapult Recordings on Digital, CD, and Cassette.

credits

released April 7, 2023

Lauren Black - Vocals, Writer, Producer
Skyler McCoy - Producer, Mixer
William Eisenberg - Guitar
Kyle Waggoner - Bass
Justin Given - Drums
Gabriel Meyer - Viola
Alexander Feltner-Harris - Cello
Tommy Dainko - Gong
William Eisenberg - Additional Guitar
Olasuyi Ige - Violin
Jack Whalen – Bagpipes
James Black - Vocals
Lisa Black - Card Playing

Artwork by Sage Mabry
Photos by Chloe Barkley
Bio by Hannah Jocelyn

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