Glam rockers the Struts burst on the scene over a decade ago with their debut album, Everybody Wants. Over the past decade, the band has made a name for itself with songs ranging in theme from chasing dreams and self-expression to romance and embracing life to the fullest. These themes have resonated with fans, propelled 12 singles to rock charts, and solidified “Could Have Been Me” with Silver (British Phonographic Industry) and Platinum (Recording Industry Association of America) certifications.
About five years ago, however, vocalist Luke Spiller began to look inwards. While crafting new songs, he realized they weren’t a good fit for the Struts and wondered what it would be like to shift his own direction.
According to Spiller, this project has been a long time in the making. As part of this process, he decided to step away from his usual writing process and approach these tracks with a new one. Each song began with a title and lyrics, crafted as poetry. Spiller’s 2025 solo debut album, Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine, was the result of this new process.
The new single, “When I Die Will I Miss Living,” recently debuted on the NBC medical drama Chicago Med. The single was then released the following day on streaming platforms.
On the song, Spiller says: “I wrote the song in the winter of last year while visiting my parents in Devon. It was born from a short poem I wrote. I had been reading “Whale Day” by Billy Collins, and it really inspired me. The way he can take a thought or moment so mundane or trivial and create feelings and images in the mind really moved me.”
Spiller also shared that he began playing the song during his solo tour when he was approached by someone involved with the show, who expressed interest in using it in the show. At the time, the song had not been recorded. After being asked to record it, Spiller hit the studio with Jon Levine and Nick Perri.
Spiller does a fantastic job of carrying the beauty of the mundane into this track. At one point in the song, Spiller asks, “When I die, will I miss the mundane? Will I long for one more Sunday? Or that morning rush to catch the bus, I did a thousand times?” He paints these beautiful mosaics of moments in our lives that we typically don’t think about, but make up so much of our lives. For a song that contemplates such a somber topic, Spiller seems to intentionally stray away from making the song feel sorrowful. The song is written in a major key, and you can almost hear a smile on Spiller’s face throughout the tune.
The song certainly is a dramatic step away from the glam rock that typifies the Struts music. Gone are the big-arena rock-style vocals and raucous music. The song replaces these characteristics with quiet acoustic guitar and string arrangements for much of the song, building to a crescendo during the Middle 8 before settling back into the quieter, contemplative nature of the verses and chorus.
Listen to “When I Die Will I Miss Living” at any of these streaming services.
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