Linea Aspera is back. The minimal-synth duo surprise-released a new song today called “Mycelium,” their first new music since 2020.
“Mycelium” follows the Linea Aspera formula we know and love. Ryan Ambridge’s synth production is built on a glittering arpeggio reminiscent of previous single “Solar Flare.” Alison Lewis’s distinctively emotive vocals explore themes of connection and potential heartbreak, with a longing hook—“I could’ve shown you everything”—that captures the song’s underlying melancholy. Her lyrics compare human relationships to the mycelium network of fungi that stretches through soil, plants, and even animals.
We last heard from Linea Aspera in 2020 when they released their sophomore album, LP II, also a surprise release. That album arrived at a time when the minimal synth sound that Linea Aspera pioneered was seemingly everywhere, especially in the music of their contemporary, Boy Harsher. I included LP II on my list of the year’s best albums for its intricate synth work and Lewis’s haunting vocals.
Linea Aspera hasn’t announced whether more music or a third album is on the way. Alison Lewis, however, remains prolific with her solo work as Zanias, having released four albums to date, including this year’s Ecdysis.
You can find “Mycelium” on Bandcamp, with other streaming platforms to follow soon.
Linea Aspera “Mycelium” lyrics
We flit between the branches of the aching trees
Mycelial flow in a waking dream
We slip into the muscle of the deep machine
Surrendering all to the unforeseen
I could’ve shown you everything
I could’ve shown you everything
I could’ve shown you everything
I could’ve shown you everything
I only want to see you happy
Home eternally
Seems you can’t believe
I only want to see you happy
We drift between the summers of our empathies
How far we’ve come on an empty sea
We slip into the muscle of the deep machine
Surrendering volition and agency
I could’ve shown you everything
I could’ve shown you everything
I only want to see you happy
Home eternally
Seems you can’t believe
I only want to see you happy
We flit between the branches of the aching trees
We slip into the muscle of the deep machine
I’m only recollecting all your unmet needs
How they seemed like only impossible things
Could’ve slipped into the muscle of the deep machine
And found you the love you expected from me
I could’ve shown you everything
I could’ve shown you everything
I could’ve shown you everything
Could’ve given you everything
I only want to see you happy
Home eternally
Seems you can’t believe
I only want to see you happy