Luna Li Breaks Down New Album When a Thought Grows Wings Track by Track: Exclusive

The post Luna Li Breaks Down New Album When a Thought Grows Wings Track by Track: Exclusive appeared first on Consequence .

Track by Track is our recurring feature series in which artists guide readers through each song on a release. Today, singer-songwriter Luna Li chats through her new album, When a Thought Grows Wings .

Often, a song from Luna Li feels more akin to an orchestral composition than a product of the present-day dream-pop/indie world. It’s one of the core components that makes music from the rising Canada-born, Los Angeles-based artist stand out, and that attention to detail is one of the cornerstones of her new album, When a Thought Grows Wings . The follow-up to her 2022 debut, Duality , sees the classically trained artist more vulnerable, more layered, and even more intriguing.

Over the course of 11 tracks, When a Thought Grows Wings proves that Li’s approach to music is working. “I’m a daydreamer,” she tells Consequence , pulling inspiration from her daily life, broken relationships, and other music she loves.

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“I had an experience once where I was catching feelings for someone at the same time as becoming obsessed with a song, and began associating the person with that specific song,” she recalls. “The sense of possibility, wonder, and romance of the two different passions felt so similar to me that they almost became one.”

Li will be hitting the road for a string of headlining shows this fall — grab tickets here . Listen to When a Thought Grows Wings below, and scroll on for Luna Li’s insights into each dreamy, thoughtfully crafted song on the record.

“Confusion Song”:

This song is about the post-breakup denial your subconscious and body can have for a while when that one person won’t be in your life anymore. The main keyboard riff is an interpolation of a classical piano piece that I learned as a kid; “Prelude in Db Major” by Gliere. Before I wrote the lyrics, we initially called it “Confusion Song” because of the polyrhythm between the keyboard part and the drum groove; it messes with your head.

“Fantasy”:

I’m a daydreamer, and this song speaks to my tendency to use escapism as a coping mechanism, and also as something that enhances life; gives it a little extra shine. When writing this one, I decided to create a very silly challenge for myself to see how many key changes I could put into one song while still having it feel natural. I was able to fit four key changes in, and to me the harmonic departures of the song are a reflection of the range that fantasies can span, jumping between worlds.

“Minnie Says (Would You Be My)”:

This one is a love song about… a song. The discovery of that one piece of music that touches you so deeply that you can’t stop listening to it over and over again.

“Golden Hour” :

“Golden Hour” tells the story of an afternoon I spent with someone a couple of years ago in a meadow sitting six feet apart, drenched in rain, but having a wonderful time experiencing a slow descent into love. I wanted this song to feel soft and sensual, yearning while also peeking into a psychedelic world.

“I Imagine”:

This song compares the feeling of a crush with the feeling of becoming obsessed with a piece of music. I had an experience once where I was catching feelings for someone at the same time as becoming obsessed with a song, and began associating the person with that specific song. The sense of possibility, wonder, and romance of the two different passions felt so similar to me that they almost became one.

“Enigami”:

Originally “I Imagine” and “Enigami” were one song, and then we split them into two. This second half of the song was an attempt to capture the feelings described above; I wanted it to feel untethered, vast, full of emotion and possibility. A few years ago, I played strings on my friend Stacey’s song “Kissed a Friend,” which opens up in the second half; this is what inspired me to write “Enigami.”

“That’s Life”:

I once read a self-help book that advised me to ask, “Will this matter a year from now?” when something in life goes badly. The chorus is built around that idea. I wrote this song when I needed reminders to live lightly, trust my gut, and not worry or overthink too much.

“I Would Let You”:

This is one of the most honest songs I’ve ever written. It’s an exploration of my boundaries, priorities, and conditions in a relationship.

“Take Me There”:

This song encapsulates some of the main themes of this record: the realization that sacrifice and change are essential to growth, and the idea that everyone has the power to shape the life that they want to live.

“Fear is an Illusion!”:

This was my first time creating an arrangement for a woodwinds ensemble. We had Jesse McGinty come in and play all over the record and I had this idea that we could do an interlude track with him. We arranged this on the fly based on some of the melodies in “Bon Voyage,” and in the background of the song we put in some faint field recordings of time spent with my family in nature.

“Bon Voyage”:

This is one of my favorite songs on this record. It combines all of the things that I love — string and woodwind arrangements, sweeping harp, psychedelic guitars, driving drums, and yearning, questioning lyrics. It was clear from the start that this would be the album closer. It leaves you with the question of “Can a thought grow wings and ascend?”

Luna Li Breaks Down New Album When a Thought Grows Wings Track by Track: Exclusive
Mary Siroky