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Jul 20, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Tabitha Brooke

Over the past several years, Nashville-based musician Lydia Luce has quietly evolved from her classical roots and Nashville session work into a spellbinding singer/songwriter, first with her 2018 debut, Azalea, then with her sophomore record, Dark River. Last year, she also returned with a new EP, Garden Songs, exploring further into her cinematic combination of indie folk and chamber pop.

This year, she’s been sharing early listens to another new album, incorporating dreamy washes of psychedelia on “Never Enough,” raw and confessional folk on “Face and Figure,” and celestial ambient touches with “Your Garden.” Today, she’s back with official news of her third full-length album, Florida Girl, out October 27th via Nettwerk. She’s also shared a new single to accompany the announcement, “Other Side,” premiering with Under the Radar.

Lyrically, “Other Side” is impressionistic and exploratory like much of Luce’s songwriting, meditating on what comes after death. However, it also takes on a more propulsive sheen, driven by pounding drums and colored by swirling guitar textures. With the chorus, Luce’s voice soars high, bringing a bittersweet euphoria and gentle peace to her ruminations on death一“If I die tonight / And there’s nothing on the other side / Know that I would be alright / Hope that I would be alright.”

Luce says of the track, “My friend Raymond Joseph texted me during the pandemic and said, ‘Do you want to write a song about death?’ This song is us pondering the afterlife. Will we be reincarnated? Will our souls just float off into the abyss? Growing up, I believed if you’re good you go to heaven and if you’re bad you go to hell. I no longer believe in heaven and hell and have come to a place where I’m ok with not knowing what happens after I die. I’m just trying to stay present while I’m here.”

She continues, saying of the full record, “I am thrilled to be announcing the release of my third album Florida Girl. The record is about true acceptance. Acceptance of my present self and my past self, of life and death, of my emotions both the good and bad. My 30’s so far have come with a ton of reflection. There were so many things I avoided in my 20’s, and I did that through abusing drugs and alcohol and with eating disorders. I no longer want to numb anything away. Instead, I want to put in the work, even when it is uncomfortable and be where I’m at.

I grew up in South Florida and have always hated telling people that. The ‘Florida man’ headlines, politics and negativity that comes with talking about Florida. Naming the record Florida Girl is my acceptance of where I’m from.”
Check out the song and video below. Florida Girl is out everywhere on October 27th via Nettwerk.