The Universe Smiles Upon You II (Ltd. White Vinyl)

If you could travel back ten years in time, what would you say to your younger self? That was a question Khruangbin asked themselves as they approached the tenth anniversary of their debut album—the former cult classic that is now considered genre-defining: The Universe Smiles Upon You. “If we could go back and tell ourselves how much was coming after this album, what would we want to celebrate?” asked Laura Lee, bassist, singer, and founding member of the band. Instead, they thought, “Let's do it again.” The Universe Smiles Upon You II was recorded from January 4 to 6, 2025, in the same family barn owned by guitarist Mark Speer, on the same days that TUSUY was first created ten years ago. Although the conditions were the same—dirt floor, brutally cold, minimal soundproofing, all recordings live—the songs are not. They were approached anew, some changed more than others, capturing the “lightning in a bottle” energy of the original album while discovering what would be unique this time around, at this stage in the band's life. The result moves like waves on water across ten mesmerizing tracks, the barn creating a sense of space, serenity, and creative freedom, the nearby wildlife audible (listen for the birds on “August Twelve ii”), as are the creaks and clatters of the barn. It is a web of small movements in nuanced arrangements that slowly reveal the new life, stories, and character of someone you meet again for the first time after ten years.

Trackliste:

1.1 LITTLE JOE AND MARY II
1.2 BALLS AND PINS II
1.3 WHITE GLOVES II
1.4 THE MAN WHO TOOK MY SUNGLASSES II
1.5 PEOPLE EVERYWHERE II
2.1 BIN BIN II
2.2 AUGUST TWELVE II
2.3 DERN KALA II
2.4 TWO FISH AND AN ELEPHANT II
2.5 ZIONSVILLE II