It’s difficult to nail down the genre-defying sound of Montreal's the Luyas. On Human Voicing, the band’s first new full-length since 2012’s Animator, they've created a sonic collage that is dream-like and experimental, alternating between quiet and cacophony.

What began as a collaboration over 10 years ago between Jessie Stein, Pietro Amato and Stefan Schneider has grown over the years to include Mathieu Charbonneau, Bucky Wheaton and Michael Feuerstack. They describe their improvised, collaborative recording efforts on the album, via press release, as a “leap of faith taken together by all six musicians.”

The resulting mix of sound travels all over the spectrum of rock: on some songs you’ll be transported by layers of space pop and on others you will be engulfed by a wall of synths. The double-drum foundation made by Wheaton and Schneider brings a consistent through-line to the mix.

"Musically this album is a collection of improvs turned into songs," said Stein via email. "It's almost entirely live off the floor and mostly uncomposed besides the vocals. It's the sound of us playing our instruments together. If it represents anything, it is our relationship as collaborators and friends."

Like last year’s Says You EP, Human Voicing was produced and mixed by Jace Lasek of Besnard Lakes and recorded at Montreal’s Breakglass Studios. You can listen to our stream here for a week, before it gets released on Feb. 24, and pre-order it via Paper Bag Records here.

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