Luke Spiller Spills His Heart Out in Debut Solo Album
The longtime Struts frontman is still in the spotlight, but this time, he’s all on his own, in his debut solo album “Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine.”
Courtesy of Big Machine Rock
“Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine.” (April 25, 2025)
Best known to most as the frontman of The Struts for more than a decade, Luke Spiller has worked to help the band rise to fame around the world, but now he’s ready to make a name for himself as a solo artist. On April 25, 2025, Spiller released his debut solo album, “Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine” a powerful and vulnerable album where Spiller pours his heart out about life and love in Los Angeles.
A New Sound for a Familiar Face
It can be hard to avoid the natural comparisons to earlier work when an artist goes solo, and while OG Struts fans will be happy to find some songs that seem call back to some earlier ballads like “Black Swan” and “Mary Go Round,” overall the album feels wholly unique to Spiller’s vision for himself as a solo artist. The glitz and glam of The Stuts is stripped back and replaced with huge orchestral moments that pull the listener in and refuse to let go. There are moments in the album that could slot perfectly into any blockbuster score or Broadway overture, and the intensity of the orchestra rarely lets up throughout the 42 minute runtime of the ten track album.
In an album announcement email to fans, Spiller described the album as, “the most personal thing [he’s] ever made. Written like poetry, wrapped in big strings, heartbreak, drama, and a whole lotta love.” From the very first note of the opening track “Devil in Me” it was clear that Spiller was ready to create a new sound to really set his solo work apart from his work with The Struts. The dramatic combination of swelling strings against Spiller’s gritty opening vocals opens the album with a sound that fans familiar with the Struts may not have expected, but that immediately peaks the listener’s interest and makes one want to keep listening for what is yet to come.
In “She’s Just Like California,” Spiller drops the orchestra to opt for a fully acoustic track that conjures up mental images of a perfect California day and a perfect love interest who slipped away. It’s one of the only moments of the album where the listener is released from the strong grasp of the full backing band and given a chance to breathe. If The Struts plan to feature any of Spiller’s solo work on their upcoming anniversary tour, this feels like a perfect choice to drop into the mini acoustic set that’s often featured in the middle of their setlists.
Spiller does a fantastic job showcasing his range within just a few songs. On track 8, “Don’t Be Afraid to Love Me,” Spiller ups the vulnerability, begging an unnamed subject not to be scared to be with him. The song is soft and poetic, but the intense strings heard throughout the album remain, helping to anchor the almost melancholic lyrics against some of the more powerful anthems like the title track “Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine.”
From the start of the album all the way through to track nine, the listener only hears Spiller’s side of his stories. As he sings about love and lost love, Spiller bares his soul, but the listener never hears from the other party. Then, only the very last track, “Angel Like You,” Spiller introduces a second voice to his narrative, finally filling in the audience on the other side. Spiller is joined on the track by Kendall Rucks, a Los Angeles-based artist whose vocals hold their own against Spiller’s powerful sound. Rucks’ vocals meld beautifully with Spiller’s, leading to a powerful duet and a perfect place to close out the album.
“Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine” may have been a long time coming, but it is evident now that it was well worth the wait. It is a phenomenal debut that shows that Luke Spiller is not just a piece of The Struts, but also a standout all on his own.
