October 4, 2022

Flaunt Premiere | Gabriels' New Debut LP + MUSIC VIDEO 'Angels & Queens'

by Jess Ferguson

R&B/soul trio Gabriels recently released their debut LP Angels & Queens on September 30 in the midst of opening for Harry Styles’s residency shows in Austin. The album, produced by Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé collaborator Sounwave, will be part one of a two-part project, the latter to be released in March. The group also just released the music video for their funky title track, “Angels & Queens,” today, October 4. The video is a lively, lighthearted visual to the soulful track, featuring plenty of dancing from band frontman and vocalist Jacob Lusk.

The album tackles the group’s personal yet universal experiences, including grief, addiction, change, and personal liberation. While dealing with heavier topics, the LP also is joyful and uplight, representing a range in emotions.

The trio, made up of Lusk, producer and keyboardist Ryan Hope, and producer-composer and violinist Ari Balouzian, broke into the music industry with Prada’s 2018 vignette series The Delivery Man, which combined JK Simmons’s acting with the first and, then only, song from Gabriels. Since then, the group has released a handful of EPs and singles, most notably “Blame,” “Love and Hate in a Different Time,” and “One and Only” before dropping their debut, Angels & Queens.

The bandmates have handled the album release a little differently. Hope said, “I got everything I needed from it; enjoying the process. I’m not looking for it to do any specific number or win a bunch of things.” Similarly, Balouzian shared, “The success of this was actually getting to make something we’re so proud of.” The more animated Lusk has high hopes for the future of the group: “I’m not gonna lie, I want to win every award, every Grammy! I want to perform with everybody and anybody.”

The trio closed out their performances with Styles at the Moody Center on October 3, and they will remain in the city for the Austin City Limits Music Festival on October 7.