The British Columbia-based band Loving (multi-instrumentalists/songwriters Jesse Henderson and David Parry) announced their sophomore album Any Light will be released on February 9^th, 2024, via Last Gang Records/MNRK. The 10-song LP is a sonic leap from their 2020 debut LP, If I Am Only My Thoughts, and presents their most powerful and emotionally affecting songs to date. The album’s ethereal and hypnotically lilting lead single “Medicine” unfolds in a dream-like narrative. “This was playfully written as a chronicle of our friend’s recent psychedelic adventures, he’s the sort who is always looking for a cure,” Henderson notes. “Medicine” is out now alongside a vibrant video directed by John Andrews.

On Any Light, Loving share a batch of songs born from moments of serendipitous inspiration: a spontaneously composed poem, a long-forgotten voice memo, an uncannily pertinent book unearthed in their studio space. Henderson and Parry brought these songs to life by surrendering to a prolonged process of free-flowing experimentation, often dreaming up several entirely distinct iterations of a track before deciding on a final version. Through all that unhurried exploration, Loving arrived at a body of work that invites a similar sense of charmed receptivity, even as its songs examine such complex matters as romantic love, depression, existential uncertainty, and the psychic consequences of living in an increasingly digitized world. “When I looked at all of these songs together, I realized that the concept of light was threaded throughout the album,” explains Henderson, who serves as Loving’s vocalist and lyricist. “For me light signifies awareness or insight, which ties into how many of these songs document a shift in perspective.”

Any Light took shape at Risque Disque studio on Vancouver Island, with Loving greatly expanding their musical vocabulary and repertoire. The album encompasses a far more elaborate sound than its predecessor, layering its lush arrangements with trumpet, timpani, vibraphone, strings, and organ—all new territory for the band. Despite diverging from the finespun indie-folk of their past work, Loving imbue every song with the poetic introspection first shown on their 2016 debut EP, as well as the disarmingly warm presence they’ve brought to stages around the world.

Although Henderson and Parry handled most of Any Light’s instrumentation on their own—with Henderson playing piano, Wurlitzer, guitar, and organ and Parry’s contributions including guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and additional keys —Loving also shaped the album’s richly detailed tracks with the help of several musician-friends, including singer/songwriter Evan Cheadle on guitar, multi-instrumentalist Colin Nealis on strings, and Keenan Mittag-Degala on percussion.