Captain Tallen & the Benevolent Entities Share "Spotted Lantern Fly" Single
The Brooklyn group will celebrate the release with a show at Empire Stage, following a summer stop at Fledge Fest in Vermont.
Brooklyn-based poetic project CAPTAIN TALLEN & THE BENEVOLENT ENTITIES has released the single 'Spotted Lantern Fly,' the latest track from the upcoming album EARTH, SWALLOW ME WHOLE, due out September 18, 2026 via Sage Records. The song uses the invasive insect as a metaphor for a damaging romantic entanglement, described in the release as a species trying to survive in an ecosystem it does not belong in while unable to escape the pull of obsession.
'Spotted Lantern Fly' is a metaphor about a romantic entanglement that was not good for me/ a species trying to survive in an ecosystem that it's invasive to. Both trying to outrun a situation that I know I shouldn't be in, while continuously returning to the addictive nature of the obsession.
Captain Tallen & the Benevolent Entities found their name and their sound during a cabin retreat, when the group of musician friends mused about what it would be like to escape their existential woes together on a ship on the high seas.
Perhaps it's for the best that the group cannot actually abandon the grappling of heartbreak, gender identity, and climate crises, and instead finds outlet through community and song.
Though they remain primarily landlocked, the crew finds the movement of adventure in their sound, knowing which tracks are carrying them through emotional storms and which ones are embracing the stillness of calm waters.
Tracklist
1. Shanty
2. Rearview
3. Spotted Lantern Fly
4. Heatwave
5. Heavyweight
6. Always Been Like This
7. Interlewed
8. Saginaw
9. Sun Could Explode
The group is led by trans vocalist and cellist Tallen Gabriel, whose lyrics draw on autobiographical imagery, paired with producer and multi-instrumentalist Vincent Randazzo. Much of EARTH, SWALLOW ME WHOLE was recorded during a week-long residency at Harbor Studios in Red Hook, with co-producer Eric Sanderson engineering the album. The band is set to perform at Fledge Fest in Vermont on August 22 and to hold an album release show at Empire Stage in Brooklyn on September 18, the same day the record arrives via Sage Records.
Photo Credit: Felix Walworth
Photo Credit: Felix Walworth
