Achille Lauro releases next single on wax

The cool kids say CDs are passé in the era of digital music. The really cool kids will talk your ear off about the advantages of collecting vinyl over MP3s. But not even the hippest first-adopters in the world are tweeting about scented candles—yet. Denver’s Achille Lauro skips over the cassette revival and dives headlong into a medium nobody’s too hip for anymore, as it will release its next single, “Low Cha Cha” and “Hand Of Sand,” on a scented candle. The industry that’s been defined by suburban housewives’ sensibilities will soon be a lot more indie—and indie budget-friendly. Making candles is a lot cheaper than making 12-inch vinyl. Who knew?

“Our last release we did on vinyl,” guitarist Luke Mossman explains. “We loved it, but upon realizing that we probably couldn’t afford that again, we thought we’d do some singles this year.”

Indie budget or not, Achille Lauro isn’t just raiding Dollar General for leftover candles. The act’s producing 200 custom-made Achille Lauro-branded candle labels, complete with a unique download code so fans can get their hands on MP3s. The band’s still settling on the perfect scent to represent the tunes.

The candle’s the first in a trio of unorthodox releases Achillo Lauro plans for this year, and should be followed up by an Achille Lauro single on a candy bar and another single rolled up with a bottle of Achille Lauro body oil or personal lubricant. Hopefully you’ll find that special someone to share the band’s music with you.

If you want a candle, you may need to start saving the date—it’s released June 10 at Hi-Dive—as the members of Achille Lauro might only have it in them to truck a gross and a half of smelly candles onto their merchandise table once. “It might just be a one-off thing. That’s a lot of candles to lug around,” Mossman says. “I don’t know if we know what we’re getting ourselves into here.”