'Speak The Word To Hear The Sound': Live and Local with Alycia Lang

Local singer/songwriter Alycia Lang stopped by Live and Local this week, ahead of the release of her debut full-length album “Speak The Word To Hear The Sound.”

Visit AlyciaLang.com.

Alycia Lang has been working on “Speak The Word” since she relocated to Durham from northern California five years ago. “It’s mostly about the transition of moving,” she says: the finished product was delayed by the pandemic, but most of the songs were written during her move.

And in some ways the delay paid off, because Lang says the recording process turned out to be a huge success. “There was so much magic that happened,” she says. “I started at a studio in Brooklyn, (and) people would just wander in and out of the studio that I didn’t in a million years imagine would be on my record – and they would just come in and say, ‘oh, can I play piano on this?’ So I’ve got Damien Rice on a song, and a lot of (other) friends in New York that are really, really talented.”

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Lang says the album also features local notables – including three tracks produced by Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak/Flock of Dimes), with whom Lang lived when she first moved to Durham. “She’s just a dear friend of mine,” Lang says of Wasner. “It was just really cool to work with somebody who’s so talented…but who also understands me as a person.”

“Speak The Word” won’t drop for another month – the release date is June 14 – but it’s already earning widespread acclaim for its “rich sonic landscape,” its “complex themes,” and Lang’s “irresistible vocals.” The lead single, “Bad Luck Bad Habit” – a favorite of ours on 97.9 The Hill – has already racked up 200,000 Spotify streams and counting.

Watch the video for Bad Luck Bad Habit.

“I still love every song on this record,” Lang says. “Every line has some impactful meaning in my eyes, but it’s also just enough that it’s out in the world.”