Luna Keller – Rescue Songs (2025)
I’m unsure whether I should admit this, but some artists cross my path that are more interesting, exciting, and all-around wonderful than others – Luna Keller is one of these. With her way of weaving provocative issues into heart-warming (sometimes heart-tugging) melodies with poetic lyricism, Keller is introspective, reflective and relatable. The latest release from this talented songstress is the EP Rescue Songs.
One of the most interesting aspects of Rescue Songs, not that every song breathes intrigue individually, is its creation. Connecting with audiences beyond a good conversation, Keller allowed listeners to take control of Rescue Songs. Raising over €9,000 on Kickstarter, supporters chose the songs, followed the production via a vlog, and even created the EP’s cover art. Deeply community-driven, Keller allowed an international following to take the reins with her, build something spectacular, and have that heartfelt “yeah, I helped make that.”
Recorded and produced by Dominic Romano – for the first time in-person – Rescue Songs strips back the audience-chosen singles, adding more emotion, vulnerability, and, to a degree, strength into the tracks. Having been chosen from her 600-song back catalogue, I feel each song is a quiet peek at Keller’s life at the time from the resilient ‘Burn Out The Sun’ to the healing ‘Shivering’ and the obscure Spanish ‘Oxigeno’.
Similar to her critically acclaimed album Ocean Inside Of Me, each track on Rescue Songs is an introspective tackling of severe depression – a glimpse at the bad but with good boldly taking the fore. Opening with ‘Shivering’, Keller introduces us to Rescue Songs with a moving exploration of the mindset of living in depression – anxiety, frustration and detachment. The end lyrics, “it’s crawling under my skin… I’m still shivering”, might be part of a beautifully crafted song, but remains an almost painful shift to acknowledging depression.
Not easing up on this journey through the intricate complexities of an individual living with depression, ‘Don’t Kill The Butterfly’ may be the most intriguing track of Rescue Songs. Exploring the taboo issue of self-harm, it delves into the shame and pain that are difficult to explain but exist nonetheless. Yet, as with ‘Burn Out The Sun’ and ‘Shivering’, the tracks may lean toward the difficult but simultaneously discuss how Keller is a better person, more self-accepting, after overcoming everything.
‘Same Street’ and ‘Good Intentions’ can win your heart melodically and lyrically, but ‘Oxigeno’ is my favourite track, and it wasn’t easy to choose one. Retaining the tender combination of Michael Stephenson’s guitar and piano and Harley Eblen’s cello that we hear in the previous songs, ‘Oxigeno’ stands out as a Spanish-language track. Embracing a traditional Spanish flavour, Keller showcases another side of her multi-faceted personality. The only word I understand is “Esperanza” meaning “hope”, and that’s what Rescue Songs is. It’s an EP brimming with hope wrapped in old-school folk charm.
Find out more about Luna Keller on her official website, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok and Spotify
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