In 2021, Lunar Vacation released their debut album, Inside Every Fig Is A Dead Wasp. Today, the indie rock five-piece is announcing its follow-up, Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire, and sharing the promising lead single “Set The Stage.”

“Set The Stage” is a fuzzed-out, emotionally crushing beauty. “This was the first love song I wrote about someone and then sent it to them. That is the first and last time I will ever do that. Love can make you do really strange things,” vocalist and guitarist Gep Repasky explained. “It took some convincing on my end to fully realize this song, but that’s the best part about making music with my bandmates; they are the voice of reason and I trust them. So once the walls were down, we went in blazing, and changed the vibe of the sad, acoustic demo to the monster that it is now.”

The track comes with a music video directed by Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame, who explained:

When I listened to “Set The Stage” I was taken by how atmospheric it sounded. The feedback and droning guitars made me think of dark and rich environments. Gep’s beautiful melody offsets the darkness by bringing a levity and brightness. The goal was to have that melody reflected by dance, choreographed by the amazing Elana Wulkan. We had an amazing crew and I’m honored that Lunar Vacation asked me to direct this video for them, and even more honored to call them friends.

Since Inside Every Fig Is A Dead Wasp, Repasky endured emotional tumult that led to psychiatric hospitalization, which the new album touches on. “When it happened, everyone was there. They brought me a note in the hospital, they brought me clothes, they brought me books,” they said. The LP was produced by Drew Vandenberg, and Yo La Tengo and Björk are named as influences. “Our last album was super produced, manicured,” guitarist and vocalist Maggie Geeslin expounded. “This one’s organic. We embraced mistakes; it made the work even better.”

Watch the “Set The Stage” video below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Sick”
02 “Set The Stage”
03 “Tom”
04 “Erase All The B’s”
05 “Bitter”
06 “Fantasy”
07 “Just For Today”
08 “Better Luck”
09 “You Shouldn’t Be”

TOUR DATES:

07/24 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre*
07/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer*
07/30 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club*
07/31 – Boston, MA @ Royale*
08/01 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel*
09/13 – Atlanta, GA @ Criminal Records (In-store performance)
10/30 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
10/31 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
11/02 – Fort Collins, CO @ The Coast
11/04 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
11/08 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO~
11/11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield Theatre~
11/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium~
11/15 – San Diego, CA @ PETCO Park~
11/16 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas~
11/17 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre~
11/19 – Dallas, TX @ Southside Ballroom~
11/20 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center~
11/22 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern (The Stuffing)~

*with VACATIONS
~with Manchester Orchestra & Thrice

Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire is out 9/13 on Keeled Scales.