Pre-Order // Cor de Lux - Year of the Horse (Black Vinyl) Release: 18.09.2026

Cor de Lux, the unorthodox alt-rock foursome from North Carolina's outerbanks, who recently announced their signing to Ipecac Recordings, release their label debut, the J. Robbins-produced YEAR OF THE HORSE, on 18th September.

Produced by J. Robbins (War on Women, Mary Timony), YEAR OF THE HORSE captures Cor de Lux’s competing impulses: abrasion and melody. Atmosphere and momentum, chaos and control. Across nine songs, the Kill Devil Hills quartet balances post-hardcore urgency, shoegaze bliss, and guitar-driven catharsis. Recorded with Robbins, the album preserves the raw chemistry that defines the band while pushing their songwriting into sharper, more immediate territory.

The group, Dawn Moraga (vocals/guitar), Tim Lusk (vocals/guitar), John Bliven (bass), and drummer Jacob Richardson, first introduced their sound on their self-titled 2020 release, followed by Mediain 2023. Across both records, Cor de Lux established a voice rooted in tension and movement: post-hardcore urgency, shoegaze atmosphere, guitar-centered unpredictability, and the chemistry that only comes from musicians learning each other in real time.

That chemistry is the band’s engine. Since their outset, the musicians have stayed true to their belief of creating art without ego. Preferring to arrive at rehearsals willing to chase ideas rather than dictating marching orders, their songs are born out of spontaneity letting each members’ skillset share equal space in the spotlight. As Moraga explains, the band will usually plug in and start jamming on a fresh idea before rehearsing their established set. Often, it will be a dead end road, but on special occasions it will cause them to scramble to get it recorded. “Usually once or twice a month we will hit on something and go ‘oh no, not another new song,’” says Moraga with a laugh.

YEAR OF THE HORSE sounds like a band that earned every inch of its growth. Cor de Lux has been building from the margins: hauling gear, making records on their own terms, and forging community one show at a time. Now, with the reach of Ipecac Recordings behind them, they arrive not as newcomers, but as something rarer: a fully formed band entering its next chapter.

Out on 18.09.2026 /