The female indie duo released “I Wish Venus Had a Moon,” the title track and final single for their upcoming debut album on September 30th.

Words By Lauren Duncan / Graphic by Maxine Moses / Original cover photo by Mia Ignazio

Sophomore indie band Luna and the Carpets have quickly become a force to be reckoned with in Syracuse’s student-run music scene. The band formed in their freshman year and released their debut single “Door County Sunsets,” in February 2023 after breaking into the house scene by covering popular indie rock songs like boygenius’s “Not Strong Enough.” 

On September 30th, the band released “I Wish Venus Had a Moon,” the final single from their similarly-titled upcoming EP, and the track is a beautiful ballad full of yearning. The vocalists croon about wishing for someone who is not there and can never be had. This is parallelled in the song and EP’s title, as the songwriters wish Venus had a moon, but it cannot because it is too close to the sun. The song is filled with this warmth and self-reflection, eliciting a sense of nostalgia and wistfulness. 

Vocalists Anjali Engstrom and Grace Ferguson harmonize on the single to produce a dreamy, lulling effect that makes you also wish to be “dancing in your consciousness.” The song slowly builds into an eruption in the bridge, as the pair belt out and overlap the chorus melodiously. The acoustic and electric guitars seem to compete to be heard in the blend while supporting the singers’ vocals. 

The band utilizes the organic sound of acoustic guitars in the opening that is reminiscent of boygenius’s Lucy Dacus or Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham on the album Tusk. Luna and the Carpets’ upcoming album, I Wish Venus Had a Moon, is set to release on October 13th and will surely be stunning if the rest is just like this.