Lael Neale has shared her new single ‘Down On The Freeway,’ underpinned by skittering motorik beats and ladled with Neale’s dreamy 60s flecked melodies that capture the movement freeways full of people going in circles intriguing and escapist yet underscored with a deeper themes of “going nowhere”, watch the official video below. The track is a standout from Altogether Stranger, her expansive forthcoming new album, out May 2nd, 2025 worldwide on Sub Pop. Neale offers this on the song and its haute visual, which she stars in and also directed:
“This song is specific to Los Angeles. The drum machine really wrote the song. It conjures the endless sea of cars. Moving, bottlenecked, bumper to bumper. I’m always amazed that so many of us have somewhere to go. The video appeared in my mind’s eye as soon as we recorded the song. I saw that cars on the freeway are like people walking in a fashion show, pacing back and forth. The fashion show is the epitome of movement going nowhere. The video is a part of a larger story being told by the album and accompanying film, in which my character is an alien bewildered by the modern way of life on Earth. The QR code I ingest at the end of this video suggests that humanity is caught up in an escapist fantasy of techno-consumerism.”
The songs on Lael Neale’s Altogether Stranger, which includes ‘Tell Me How To Here,’ ‘Wild Waters,’ and the aforementioned ‘Down On The Freeway,’ were written by Neale. The album was produced and mixed by Blakeslee at home in Los Angeles and mastered by Chris Coady.
Lael Neale’s minimalist drone pop draws inspiration from the Transcendentalists, the alienation of modern life, and a rich array of musical influences—ranging from Dionne Warwick and John Lennon to primitive American gospel and Spacemen 3. Her expansive new record, Altogether Stranger, was written and recorded in the early morning quiet of Los Angeles. Clocking in at just 32 minutes, the 9-song LP covers an unexpected breadth of musical and lyrical terrain—from garage rock nursery rhymes and creation myths to Motorik dance dirges and solitary Omnichord meditations. A brilliant lyricist, Neale has a unique ability to uncover the extraordinary within the mundane, tackling themes of polarity that recur throughout her work—country vs. city, humanity vs. technology, isolation vs. society. This album is her third collaboration with producer Guy Blakeslee who helps expand the tonal palette while staying true to Neale’s commitment to the raw immediacy and hand-made intimacy of home recording (read more at Sub Pop).
In May, they’ll head over to the UK and EU, beginning May 10th in Dublin, IE at Workman’s Cellar and running through Saturday, June 14th in Hilvarenbeek, NL at Best Kept Secret Festival. Highlights for this announcement include support on headlining shows from collaborator Guy Blakeslee’s band Entrance (select dates, May 10th-June 12th); A new instore at London’s Rough Trade East (May 2nd); EU festival appearances at Stockholm’s Echo Three Fest (May 24th), and Guastalla, IT’s Handmade Festival (June 8th).
Tickets for these shows are on sale now
UK/EU Live Dates
MAY
02 – London, UK – Rough Trade East
10 – Dublin, IE – Workman’s Cellar *
11 – Belfast, UK – McHughs *
14 – Lausanne, CH – Le Romandie*
15 – Dijon, FR – La Vapeur *
16 – Paris, FR – Le Hasard Ludique *
17 – Brussels, BE – Les Nuits Botanique Mon. May 19 – Amsterdam, NL – DOKA *
20 – Hamburg, DE – Nachtasyl *
21 – Berlin, DE – Kantine am Berghain *
23 – Copenhagen, DK – Huset
24 – Stockholm, SE – Echo Three Fest
27 – Bristol, UK – The Louisiana *
28 – London, UK – Omeara *
29 – Manchester, UK – YES Basement *
30 – Newcastle, UK – Cumberland Arms *
31 – Glasgow, UK – Hug & Pint *
JUNE
08 – Guastalla, IT – Handmade Festival
12 – Luxembourg, LU – Rotondes *
14 – Hilvarenbeek, NL – Best Kept Secret Festival
