Gabriels Release Debut Album 'Angels & Queens'

Soulful pop Los Angeles trio Gabriels are excited to share their eagerly-anticipated debut album, Angels & Queens - available today via Elektra Records.

Angels & Queens is a peerless, genre-bouncing body of work that makes good on all the promise Gabriels have shown over the past twelve months. The record has already arrived to early critical acclaim, earning five star reviews from The Guardian and Dazed.

From the band's first ever live shows down in the cramped, sweaty basements of London in the winter of 2021, they almost instantly became one of the most talked about and broadly acclaimed new acts around - and on Angels & Queens - showcase one of the most accomplished debut albums in years.

Produced by GRAMMY Award-winning and fellow Compton-native producer Sounwave - who has worked with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Chloe x Halle and Beyonce - Angels & Queens will also be unveiled in two parts, with the second instalment arriving early next year.

Of the new LP, Gabriels commented: "Our debut album Angels & Queens is a unique exploration of love and loss from each of our differing perspectives. We were planning to release our album next year, but got the opportunity to collaborate with some of the most amazing people who initially were strangers, but within weeks became family in the most mind blowing process. As the first part of the album was recorded, we knew we wanted to share it with you as soon as possible."

Sounwave added: "I was instantly drawn in from the raw emotions and how limitless their range was. For this project we wanted to push the boundaries sonically that matched the intense and vulnerable feelings of each song."

Gabriels are currently on tour with GRAMMY Award-winning pop sensation Harry Styles at his residency arena tour dates at the Moody Center in Austin, TX, which run through Monday, October 3. The group is also slated to perform at this year's Austin City Limits Festival on Friday, October 7 (3:15pm @ Barton Springs Stage). The full itinerary of tour dates can be found below as well.

Gabriels are Compton-bred gospel singer Jacob Lusk, Sunderland, U.K.-born producer and keyboardist Ryan Hope, and LA-native producer-composer and violinist Ari Balouzian.

The embryonic stages of Gabriels were initially sewn a few years back, film director Ryan Hope had just signed a deal with Roman Coppola's Directors Bureau and moved from Sunderland to Los Angeles, where he stumbled across producer-composer Balouzian's scoring work. Intrigued, Hope got in touch and the pair began working together out of Balouzian's apartment studio.

Their work brought them to Jacob Lusk and his church choir, but when additional parts were required, the choir returned minus their lead. Never the type to settle, Hope and Balouzian popped down to a church service in a Leimert Park middle school and set up a remote studio where Lusk laid key vocals and harmonies for them.

All who listen to Gabriels' (their group name comes from St. Gabriels Avenue, the street Hope grew up on in England) two-part debut album Angels & Queens, can hear their synergy. They'll also certainly fall for Lusk's rich, far-reaching vocal range.

His powerful voice took a bit of work to master, but with practice and a church upbringing, Lusk clearly learned to use his gifts. Before long, he was building his music industry resume as a background singer for icons like Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, Beck, St. Vincent, and Nate Dogg.

Gabriels' initial breakthrough came via Milan fashion house Prada's 2018 three-part vignette series The Delivery Man, directed by Hope himself. Their sultry cut "Loyalty" played as Academy Award-winning actor JK Simmons delivered Cahier handbags. The placement showcased their ability to create music as pleasing to the ears as couture pieces are to the touch and resulted in a bevy of record labels inquiring if Gabriels had any more music to offer. At the time, they did not.

Energized by the rising interest, the R&B-soul-rock hybrid collective crafted a slew of rough cuts, signed a major label deal, and unveiled a pair of critically acclaimed EPs in 2021 (Bloodline and Love and Hate in a Different Time). Producing standout tracks "Blame" and the latter's title track, the group quickly found fans in the likes of Elton John (who called "Love and Hate In A Different Time" "probably one of the most seminal records I've heard in the last 10 years"), David Byrne, Celeste, among others.

The band announced and subsequently sold out a series of debut headline shows in London, with punters packing rooms for some of the most extraordinary debut shows they'd have ever seen. Following a rousing debut performance at Glastonbury in June, Gabriels returned to LA to develop Angels & Queens.

The record was initially introduced via future-funk lead single and album title track, Angels & Queens. With a memorable, light-hearted opening set of lyrics, the Trojan Horse of a track swirls into a poignant cut where Lusk realizes just how deeply one can be affected by the person holding their heart-all while his voice soars to euphoria. It's a scintillating introduction to a genuinely enthralling debut record.

Listen to the new album here:

GABRIELS 2022 U.S. TOUR DATES

All dates supporting Harry Styles

*Festival date

October 2 | Moody Center - Austin, TX

October 3 | Moody Center - Austin, TX

October 7 | Austin City Limits @ Zilker Park - Austin, TX*

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