Critically lauded singer/songwriter, Lauren Auder has returned with her sublime new single “Hauntology,” out now via True Panther and Harvest Records. The first new music from Auder in nearly a year, “Hauntology” finds the France-born artist collaborating with legendary guitarist Steve Vai.
An orchestral piece of alt-pop, “Hauntology” is the latest proof of the spellbinding power of Auder’s music. Produced by Auder herself along with Jessica Winter, Larry Hibbitt, and Dviance, the track unfolds in a lush arrangement of sonic elements: ethereal textures, emphatic drum rolls, ornate horns, Vai’s wildly frenetic guitar work. But despite its sheer opulence, a certain visceral emotion cuts through each line of “Hauntology,” thanks to the raw and hypnotic passion of Auder’s vocal presence and the poetic wisdom of her lyrics (e.g., “Time is haunted differently/It’s something you let go/No new comes of repeating/The things we almost hold”).
As Auder reveals, “Hauntology” took shape at a particularly fraught moment in her life. “‘Hauntology’ was written in summer 2020, when I had just lost my therapist to the virus,” she explains. “This song is what came of that — in all its irony, reflecting on that relationship.”
Co-written by Auder with Winter, Hibbitt, and Sylvain Gerboud, “Hauntology” marks her first release since last year’s widely acclaimed EP 5 Songs for the Dysphoric. Soon after arriving in February 2021, the project appeared on Paste’s list of “The 25 Best EPs of 2021 (So Far),” in addition to earning praise from outlets like Clash, Nylon, and Idolator.
Auder is currently at work on her new album to be released later this year.