SONIC EVOLUTION. Lanue's 2021 debut album featured primarily organic instrumentation, but this time around she is experimenting with a new synth-based sound to best serve the songs. (Photo by Zoe Prinds)

Delicate melodies crafted by an indie rock outfit in a quiet hillside living room now come to life, primed to ignite the embers in the hearts of listeners. 

Lanue (Eau Claire native Sarah Krueger) is set to put out her sophomore release on Friday, April 15, a five-song EP titled Fire In My Mind. The record was recorded by Low’s Alan Sparhawk and serves as the follow-up to her 2021 self-titled debut LP. 

This time around the artist once based in organic instrumentation decided to put down the guitars and dabble in an electric synth sound, bringing out the honesty in her earnest vocals by putting them at the forefront of the recordings. She said the EP is filled with subtle tension and buoyant obscurity, focusing on the nature of our existence as humans. 

“When I was writing this EP, I was thinking a lot about the shape of time and spacetime,” Krueger said. “I was thinking about the physics behind how we perceive time and how we structure it to make sense to us. On top of that, I was feeling this sense of impending doom due to how we as humans are slowly destroying the Earth. Those two topics juxtaposed together allow you to relax and understand how we fit into the space and time we live in.”

Fire In My Mind began when Sparhawk approached Krueger with a desire to explore a sound that was more stripped back and stark than Lanue’s lush and twangy debut album. From there the pair recorded the album in his Duluth home, culminating in the new collection of tracks. 

The title track of the EP served as the lead single, a tender song featuring S. Carey of Bon Iver on background vocals and percussion. 

“I’ve always been a writer, and that is really cathartic to me,” Krueger said. “I sort my thoughts out through writing. I’ve also come to appreciate the community aspect of making music, which is something I took for granted before. I think songs help you connect with other humans, so that is a lovely thing.”

With the release of her sophomore record, Krueger said she hopes her listeners accept her new sound and open their minds to the endless sonic possibilities artist have, and don’t keep them in an artistic box. 

Fire In My Mind by Lanue is available on April 15. For more information visit lanuemusic.com.