LUCIUS

Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, two Berklee College of Music voice majors who sport matching hairstyles and outfits to highlight their winding vocal blend, anchor the sound of Lucius as the band merges torchy folk-rock with urban indie pop. Their first album, Wildewoman, arrived in 2013, yet it was the follow-up, the atmospheric Good Grief from 2016, that became their initial entry into the upper half of the Billboard 200; the set leaned into polished, 1980s-inflected pop while retaining acoustic balladry. Further sonic exploration marked later releases such as Second Nature, the 2022 album co-produced by Brandi Carlile. During this period the singers received a Grammy nomination for their work on Carlile’s “You and Me on a Rock.” Carlile later joined Lucius on “Housewarming,” the sole new track included on the 2024 release Wildewoman (The New Recordings).

The group coalesced in Brooklyn, New York, during the late 2000s and also draws on drummer Dan Molad, formerly of CHIMNEY and Via Audio, along with guitarist Pete Lalish, previously of Uni Ika Ai and Elizabeth & the Catapult. Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Burri completed the original roster that recorded the self-titled 2012 EP. One year afterward Mom + Pop, Dine Alone, and Play It Again Sam issued the full-length Wildewoman, which earned approval from the New York Times and NPR; Lucius promoted the Molad-produced set with repeated journeys through the United States, Canada, and Europe, including a European run supporting Jack White. Wolfe and Laessig additionally supplied guest vocals on the self-titled debut by San Fermin and on Tweedy’s Sukierae, and they joined the Rentals’ lineup for the 2014 album Lost in Alphaville.

After moving to Los Angeles, the five-piece reconvened in 2015 with producer Shawn Everett, known for his work with Weezer and Julian Casablancas. Good Grief emerged on the same labels in March 2016, peaking at number 92 on the Billboard 200 while also reaching the Top 15 of the alternative, rock, and independent albums charts. Later that year the singers contributed to John Legend’s Darkness and Light. Despite Lucius’s demanding tour itinerary, Wolfe and Laessig accepted an invitation to perform with Roger Waters at California’s Desert Trip festival in October 2016; the two-weekend event, which also featured Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, placed them before an audience of 75,000. That November the band issued the 10-inch “Pulling Teeth,” after which Burri departed to pursue other projects. In March 2017 Lucius delivered the single “Million Dollar Secret,” featured in the final season of HBO’s Girls. The following June Laessig and Wolfe appeared on Roger Waters’ album Is This the Life We Really Want? and remained his backing singers for the ensuing eighteen months. In March 2018 the band released Nudes, a collection of newly tracked acoustic renditions of earlier material together with three covers, one being a live-in-studio version of “Goodnight, Irene” with Waters; guitarist Nels Cline also participated. Later that year the Richard Swift tribute 7-inch “Christmas Time Is Here”/“Keep Me Hanging On” appeared on Fug Yep Soundation.

While supporting Waters throughout the late 2010s, the vocalists lent their voices to Sheryl Crow’s “Don’t” and Harry Styles’ “Treat People with Kindness.” They also featured on two tracks from Ozzy Osbourne’s 2020 album Ordinary Man. In 2021 Lucius appeared on the title song of the War on Drugs’ I Don’t Live Here Anymore and on the Grammy-nominated “You and Me on a Rock” from Brandi Carlile’s In These Silent Days. The band resumed issuing original material with the April 2022 full-length Second Nature, which alternated sleek electro-funk with introspective ballads; produced by Carlile and Dave Cobb in Nashville, the set included both Carlile and Crow on “Dance Around It.”

Following tours alongside Shakey Graves and Gregory Alan Isakov, Lucius signed with Fantasy Records in 2023 and issued the single “Stranger Danger” that November. Although the track foreshadowed a new studio album, the label’s first Lucius release was instead a fresh recording of Wildewoman, produced and mixed by Molad. Issued in May 2024, Wildewoman (The New Recordings) presented vibrant yet faithful reinterpretations alongside reworked selections that incorporated guest appearances by Marcus Mumford, Devon Gilfillian, and Brandi Carlile on the new song “Housewarming.” Throughout the year Lucius performed both as headliners and as support for the National and the War on Drugs.