2025 Grammy Nomination for Best New Artist

White Vinyl LP

If you could go back 10 years, what would you want to tell yourself? This was a question Khruangbin posed to themselves when approaching the 10-year anniversary of their debut album, the once cult-classic, now genre-defining work The Universe Smiles Upon You.

“If we could go back and tell ourselves how much was going to happen to us after that record, what would we want to celebrate?” asked Laura Lee, bassist, vocalist and founding member. Instead, they thought: “Let’s do it again.” The Universe Smiles Upon You ii was recorded on January 4-6, 2025, in the same family barn of guitarist Mark Speer, across the same dates where TUSUY was first conceived 10 years earlier. Though the conditions were the same-dirt floor, brutally cold, minimal sound isolation, all takes live — the songs aren’t the same. They’re re-approached, some changed more than others, harnessing the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of TUSUY, while discovering what would be unique this time around, in this stage of the band’s life. The result moves like ripples on the water across 10 hypnotizing tracks, the barn creating a sense of spaciousness, serenity and creative freedom while, nearby, wildlife (listen for the birds on “August Twelve ii”), rattles and creaks of the barn permeate through. It’s a tapestry of small movements in nuanced arrangements, slowly revealing the new life, stories and character of someone you’ve met again for the first time in 10 years. This brand new, re-recorded version of Khruangbin’s beloved debut celebrates the album’s 10th anniversary. The update includes fan favorite “Bin Bin ii,” which was previously released only as a bonus track.

Released: 12/5/25