Michael Shuman – best known as bassist and songwriter with Queens Of The Stone Age and Mini Mansions – continues to carve out a bold creative identity with his solo project GLU, unveiling the shimmering new single LA featuring actor and singer Lily James.
Glu
The track arrives as the latest preview of GLU’s forthcoming PONY BOY EP, set for release on 14th August, and further showcases the project’s shape-shifting blend of indie rock, dance-pop and emotionally charged songwriting. Built around warm grooves, hazy synth textures and an instantly infectious hook, LA captures the bittersweet nostalgia and magnetic pull of Southern California living.
For Shuman, the song is deeply personal. Having spent much of his life touring the globe, LA reflects his enduring connection to his hometown and the unique atmosphere that continues to draw him back.
“Being an LA native, I have a lot of pride for this city,” Shuman explains. “I’ve been on the road most of my life, but I’m always drawn back home to LA. Long term, it’s hard to imagine anywhere else I’d rather live. This song represents that nostalgic feeling of endless summer.”
Originally written and recorded four years ago, the track finally sees the light of day in what feels like perfect timing for the season, elevated further by Lily James’ airy guest vocal performance. The long-time friendship between the pair gives the collaboration an effortless chemistry that runs throughout the song.
LA follows a string of increasingly adventurous GLU releases that have steadily pushed the project beyond “side project” status. Earlier singles PONY BOY and a reimagined version of Jennifer Paige’s late-’90s hit Crush hinted at the eclectic sonic direction of the forthcoming EP, while previous breakout track BOOGIE MAN earned significant streaming traction and landed a major sync placement in MLB The Show ‘25 alongside music from Kendrick Lamar and De La Soul.
Since launching GLU in 2023 with the debut MY DEMONS EP, Shuman has used the project as a vehicle for raw self-expression, tackling themes including addiction, trauma, anxiety and identity through a genre-fluid lens. Musically, the project has drawn comparisons to artists such as Jamiroquai, Gorillaz and Mac Miller, while still maintaining a distinctive personality of its own.
That momentum has carried over onto the live stage too. GLU has spent the past two years building a reputation as a compelling live act through headline shows and tours across the UK, Europe and the US, sharing stages with the likes of The Kills, Blood Red Shoes and Miles Kane. Earlier this year, the project also supported The Blue Stones on a run of major UK dates, including London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town.
Michael Shuman & Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age @ Royal Albert Hall
With PONY BOY now on the horizon, GLU continues to emerge as one of the most intriguing and unpredictable alternative projects orbiting modern rock and indie music — blending vulnerability, experimentation and undeniable hooks into something entirely its own.
Upcoming UK Tour Dates:
JULY
26th – Manchester, YES (Pink Room)
27th – Glasgow, Attic Bar – Glasgow Garage
31st – London, The Lower Third
AUGUST
1st – Bristol, Rough Trade Bristol
Queens Of The Stone Age Unearth The Catacombs At London’s Royal Albert Hall
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