An artist at the threshold: New Lily DeTaeye album looks back before moving forward
By Fred Love
Lily DeTaeye is standing at the threshold of a new chapter.
She’s approaching 30, recently traded her native Des Moines for Brooklyn, has a new album and tour on the way, and is preparing to get married next year. With so much changing around her, DeTaeye found herself looking backward, taking stock of the memories and experiences that shaped her before stepping into whatever comes next.
That reflection became the foundation for Even With My Eyes Closed, her third full-length album, which will be released Oct. 23.
Blending ethereal atmospherics with alt-rock bite, the album traces DeTaeye’s coming of age through songs about first loves, house parties, night drives and the rites of passage that mark the journey from childhood into adulthood.
“I turn 30 next year and I’m getting married, and it’s an interesting time to look back at some of my formative, youthful memories,” she said. “This album was intentionally written to be a soundtrack for that.”
DeTaeye will tour the new album with a full band this fall, visiting East Coast markets including New York and Boston as well as Midwestern cities such as Minneapolis. The band features some of central Iowa’s most experienced musicians: Chris Hansen on drums, Steph Graham on bass and Bryan Vanderpool on guitar.
She’ll return home Nov. 13 for a hometown release show at the Temple Theater in Des Moines, co-promoted by xBk and Des Moines Performing Arts. xBk will also host a free listening party for the new record at The Annex on Monday, Oct. 12.
An “all consuming” project
For DeTaeye, Even With My Eyes Closed represents a turning point in her artistry. She describes the process of making it as “all consuming.”
Her previous two albums were assembled from disparate songs written over longer stretches of time, she said, and while she was proud of those records, they didn’t always feel as cohesive as she would have liked. This time, the songs came together much more quickly, with the album’s central themes already firmly established in her mind.
Many of the songs emerged last November, when DeTaeye participated in “New Song November,” a month-long creative sprint in which she challenged herself to generate new material every day.
The daily commitment could be overwhelming, but DeTaeye learned to stave off burnout by shifting between different aspects of the project. One day might be devoted to songwriting; the next to artwork; the next to brainstorming ideas for tour merchandise.
That approach kept the process fresh while continuing to move the album toward completion.
She also refreshed her creative palate by taking up collage, an art form that allowed her to further inhabit the feelings of nostalgia and memory running through the record.
The album was recorded at Golden Bear Studio in Des Moines during a 2½-week stretch in December 2025 and January 2026, with studio owner Bryan Vanderpool behind the board. Together, they looked for ways to use the studio itself to reinforce the mood of the record, drawing inspiration from 1990s Lilith Fair artists such as Sarah McLachlan.
Dreams of the Past
The result is an album filled with ethereal sounds that seem to exist somewhere between memory and the present. Lead single “Maybe It’s November” showcases the vulnerability of DeTaeye’s voice as she reflects on long-ago heartbreak. The album closes with “Halcyon Nights,” a serene distillation of the nostalgia and visual storytelling that runs throughout Even With My Eyes Closed.
DeTaeye wistfully glides through a series of images: “Scale down the trellis of Caroline’s house” and “Girlhood is throwing your drinks in his face. / And laughing it off in the morning.”
They capture the intensity of an age when the world can feel impossibly immediate, when a house party, a night drive or a heartbreak can seem like the most important thing that has ever happened.
“I hope the album is a little bit of a time capsule for listeners,” DeTaeye said. “It’s very specific to my experience, but I hope it harkens to shared experiences of a bygone time that we can’t go back to.”
That backward glance can be uncomfortable.
“There’s a lot of mourning that happens because it feels like you’re leaving something behind,” she said. “There’s also some joyful things on the record because it’s also the start of something new.”
That tension between nostalgia and possibility is ultimately what gives Even With My Eyes Closed its emotional center. DeTaeye is looking back, but she isn’t trying to live there.
Moments of youthful excitement shine through as well, including “Breakfast at Benny’s,” a track that captures the spirit of adolescent adventure and the sheer pleasure of being young.
“For as many moments as it’s contemplative, it’s also playful, and it was a lot of fun to create that environment and atmosphere,” DeTaeye said. “I hope that comes across.”
Lily DeTaeye – Even With My Eyes Closed Album Release
Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
The Temple Theater, Des Moines
Tickets on sale at desmoinesperformingarts.org