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Photo by Frances Carter

LA-based artist Luna Shadows is ready to let her feelings spill out in full color on her new single “gutspill.” From the first few seconds, the singer-songwriter brings in crunchy electric guitars, dreamy electronic production, and layers of lighter vocals to create a track that feels nostalgic without sounding like it’s trying too hard to recreate the past.

Co-written and co-produced with Chris Freeman of Hot Mulligan, the new release pulls from the early-2000s alternative and pop-punk sounds that helped shape Shadows as an artist. The electric guitar gives the track its rock edge, while the softer electronic production keeps everything feeling distinctly Luna Shadows. It’s an interesting combination, and one that makes the song easy to throw onto a getting-ready playlist when you want a little energy without being completely overwhelmed by it.

Vulnerability can easily become overly serious, but Shadows approaches it with a sense of humor, turning the uncertainty of saying what you really mean into something exciting. You might not know what happens next, but maybe that’s the point. As the song continues to build as it moves toward the end. The guitars become more noticeable, the drums hit harder, and the vocals start overlapping until everything feels wonderfully full. It mirrors the song’s central idea perfectly, the more you try to hold everything in, the more inevitable the eventual spill becomes.

“‘gutspill’ is a song about when you fear your feelings are about to fall out like confetti,” Shadows says. “You can try to hold them in or push them down, but ultimately, it’s more fun to let them out. Do it just for the plot. It’s a crush you can’t confess, an overwhelming emotion you can’t shake. It’s an ode to saying what you mean, even if you have to turn it into poetry and put it in a song.”

That whimsical attitude is what makes the single and the accompanying music video, which was directed, produced, production designed, and edited by Shadows, so damn fun. Featuring Freeman on guitar, the visual offers a similarly playful departure from Shadows’ typically more serious visual world. Drawing on the pop-punk aesthetics of the early 2000s, it also marks her first traditional band-style performance video.

After spending the past decade carving out her own space in alternative pop, Shadows is letting us see a lighter side of that world. As a songwriter, producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist, she has always had a hand in shaping her music from the ground up.

Listen to "gutspill" below: