Lael Neale

Lael Neale at Point Ephémère

In the wake of three critically acclaimed records on Sub Pop, minimalist lo-fi auteur Lael Neale announces As Killers Do, the inaugural self-release under her new imprint Consensual Sound, due November 20, 2026.

Recorded in the kitchen of a bungalow in Echo Park, Los Angeles, with a Tascam cassette 8-track machine, As Killers Do is Neale's fourth collaboration with Guy Blakeslee and stays true to the duo's commitment to minimalism, raw immediacy and the hand-made intimacy of home recording.

Totaling a mere 28 minutes, the ten songs on the record offer up a variety of sonic worlds, from echoes of LA's Paisley Underground and '60s girl-group sha-la-las to metaphysical proto-punk, timeless outsider folk and Surrealist psych-pop.

A brilliant lyricist, Neale has a unique ability to uncover the extraordinary within the mundane. As Killers Do showcases her ever-evolving crystalline vocal mastery and razor-sharp insights into the human condition.

By exploring her struggles on the inner plane against the backdrop of the accelerating chaos and imbalance of our digital society, she alchemises a transformation — from obsessive overthinking and often debilitating anxiety at the start of the record to a hopeful, grounded and mystical perspective by its end.

The quiet intensity of this record serves to remind us that the antidote to anxiety is creativity.

Lael has still never owned a "smartphone" and has remained wary of social media. Her DIY ethos of home-recorded music and self-directed Handycam videos is now expanding with the launch of her new label, Consensual Sound, which takes its name from her Substack.

As Killers Do will be limited to 500 vinyl copies, each with a handmade cover and mostly available directly from Neale. Her primitive original paintings, which she's been selling at the merch table in lieu of carrying heavier items, appear on the record cover and in crude stop-motion form in the accompanying music videos.

It all adds up to a personal artistic world