Sophia Anne Caruso has released “Higher State,” an electronic love song that marks the first taste of her upcoming debut album On Ecstatic, due out September 18. Caruso wrote the track herself, pairing hyperpop-leaning production with the kind of intimate, personal songwriting that has defined much of her work on stage and screen. The single features guest vocals from her partner and collaborator Sky Lakota-Lynch, and centers on love as a transformative, unifying force, along with the courage it takes to move past the illusion of being alone. You can stream “Higher State” now.
The single sets the tone for On Ecstatic as an album built around hope, memory, interconnectedness, and the choice to stay close to one another in an increasingly fragmented world. Caruso has framed the record as a blend of hyperpop’s more adventurous, glitchy sonic textures with the kind of songwriter-driven storytelling that longtime fans of her acting work may recognize in a new form.
Caruso is best known to theater audiences as the actor who originated the role of Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice on Broadway, and to a wider audience for starring in Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil opposite Kerry Washington and Charlize Theron. She also led the Broadway thriller Grey House alongside Laurie Metcalf and Tatiana Maslany before that show closed early in the summer of 2023. Her turn toward a full-length pop record marks a new lane for an artist who has spent most of her career associated with stage and streaming projects rather than music.
No further singles or tour plans have been announced yet, but with On Ecstatic landing September 18, more details from the album are expected in the coming weeks.