Seattle’s Museum Of Light have announced details for their sophomore studio album “Diviner”, set for release on March 14 via Spartan Records.
“Blunt Force Drama”, the lead single from the 11-track LP produced by Scott Evans (Sumac, Thrice, Kowloon Walled City), is streaming below.
Guitarist Ted Alvarez says: “‘Blunt Force Drama’ is a bit representative of the whole recording experience in that the basic structure existed for a while, but it only really took shape at Ocean Sound. You can spend a lot of time rehearsing and think, ‘yeah, this could be a cool song’, but it’s largely in your mind until you hear all the unknowns — new bassist, new voices, crazy location — fall into place. In my memory, this one came early and quick. I can recall Scott (Evans) blasting an early mix while staring out across a damn fjord and thinking, ‘alright, we might be on to something’. Not all the songs came together that easily, but I’m glad this one did because it set a bit of a road map for the giant sounds and moods we were going for”.
Museum Of Light’s sound blends crushing, heavy swagger with ethereal, sparkling melodies, creating a dynamic, otherworldly atmosphere that combines raw intensity with haunting, operatic vocals and poetic, existential lyrics.
Pre-order “Diviner” here.
Tracklist:
1. Body
2. Blunt Force Drama
3. Get Paid
4. Above You
5. Undone
6. The Known World
7. Still Running
8. Kneel
9. Born All Wrong
10. Diviner
11. Breathe
US Live Shows 2025:
1/9 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
1/10- Seattle, WA – Clock-Out Lounge
1/11- Vancouver, BC – The Pearl
Every band lucky enough to get to make a second record learns the journey there comes with a thousand hard choices. Double down on a sound that worked so far? Undertake wild-hair experiments to escape narrow boxes? Or let the weight of expectations inside and out paralyze you? All of the above plus more, if we’re honest — a lot can get in the way of “just make a rad record you can be proud of”.
For Seattle’s Museum Of Light, the path to “Diviner” became clear at Ocean Sound. Set against stony peaks and icy fjords on the island of Giske, Norway, the turf-roofed studio’s setting let everyone involved bask in the kind of mythic landscapes that always served as a kind of closet influence for the band. Turns out inspiration is easy to come by when it’s nudged along by a walk down a wind-raked coastline or a night spent tracking with hallucinogenic auroras dancing in the sky. It wasn’t always comfy: Each day began with a cold plunge in the Norwegian Sea, as prescribed by returning producer extraordinaire Scott Evans (Sumac, Thrice, Kowloon Walled City).
These methods yielded a record that stomps with heavy, crushing swagger while sheltering the hollows of sparkling melody and hushed breath that set Museum Of Light apart. Going beyond the blueprint of their debut “Horizon” would’ve been impossible without the addition of new bassist and certified Tøne Lörd Jeff Bartlett, who dug up the bones of the earth and somehow strapped them to rosewood. Singer Elissa Alvarez both channeled and defied decades of opera training to transform into a beyond-human choir that gives “Diviner” its ethereal soul. And award-winning poet Amelia Urry gifted the record its pulse with haunting words about the slippery nature of existing in a lost world.
In the end, “making a rad record you can be proud of” was all that Museum Of Light set out to do — international twists and turns be damned. We think they got there. Listen for yourself.
