I’ve waited for you
So lonely
Then you insist I stay behind
This is not Heaven
Hot on the heels of their unexpected, yet triumphant return to recording in 2025, Pittsburgh-based post-punk/shoegaze duo Lowsunday are back with a brand new track and video. Serving as the lead single from their upcoming Black EP (the natural shadowy follow up to last-year’s White EP), “This Is Not Heaven” is a scintillatingly dark and dreamy rave-up, featuring pummeling drum machine rhythms, buzzsaw synths, blistering guitar textures, and evocative vocals, with a chorus that lifts the track into oblivion, like an trans-dimensional jet engine. The track careens through those empty spaces where dreams and reality mix a little too closely for comfort, and the results are as alluring as they are haunting.
For the uninitiated, Lowsunday first began their tenure in the mid-1990s and were among the first bands to blend the current shoegaze movement with ’80s darkwave sounds. After self-releasing their eponymous debut LP in 1996, the band was quickly signed to Projekt Records, which released the band’s sophomore record, 2001’s wonderful Elesgiem. As trailblazers in their time, they left a huge mark on the scene, influencing countless modern bands to follow, all of which owe a great deal of debt to Lowsunday’s compositions. Remixes and remastered reissues of the band’s discography appeared in 2024 and 2025, respectively, bringing these records back into focus for a new generation. As such, the band, stripped down to core members Shane Sahene and Bobby Spell, came back in full force to reclaim their rightful throne. Last year’s interview with the duo captures the story so far and touches heavily on the band’s current output, which truly sounds as if they haven’t skipped a beat.
Meanwhile, both Sahene and Spell have shared a few words with us about the creation of “This Is Not Heaven.”
Sahene:
“This song captured a feeling that we’ve been trying to express but never as clearly as it became in this song. It’s a song that touches on loneliness and the view love from the outside – but also clearing your head enough to be expressive and cutting. It’s a song meant to be loud, at times dreamy and chaotic, but then finds its power in the heavy synth chorus- it almost reminds me of the racing engine of the Mammoth Car in old Speed Racer episodes, where it has scary power, but in this case, running from the hell of loneliness.”
Spell:
“For me. “This Is Not Heaven” is very melancholy musically and lyrically, but the choruses add enough light musically that the song leaves you with a feeling of hope. Writing and recording this song seemed to have a lot of mystery until a few key parts came along that completely changed the tone and clarified what the song would be. So far, it’s one of my favorite tracks we’ve written.”
The video for “This Is Not Heaven” is a perfect shadowy compliment to the single’s alluring cacophony. Directed by frequent collaborator Jer Herring, the video takes the duo through a monochromatic, gritty journey through city streets, dense forests, and dark basements; those places where otherworldly beauty and sheer terror can exist in harmony.
The Black EP will be released on vinyl and digital formats on May 15th via Projekt Records. Check out the video below.
Header photo by Christina Sahene.
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