It’s not hard to see why LA-via-Nashville trio LANY (pronounced as Lay-Nee) have amassed a large and dedicated online following of relatively young music listeners. Their dreamy and ‘summery’ alt-pop-meets-R&B bedroom productions (on a Dell computer, no less) is accessible and inviting, while standing slightly apart from the EDM-influenced pop that tends to dominate contemporary mainstream radio. With a debut self-titled album out last month and a headlining 32-date North American tour on the horizon, they could very well be the next big name in the alternative music scene.
The youthful threesome’s (vocalist Paul Jason Klein, drummer Les Priest and keyboardist/guitarist Jake Goss) specific popularity with ‘the female fanbase’ can probably be attributed to their honest and straightforward lyrical approach towards the perennial subject of youthful heartbreak. Inclusions of text-speak and dating app lingo also undeniably helped, even if this is not apparent on their recent single “Good Girls”.
The song’s hook is ultimately reassuring (‘Baby, come back, I know my way around your heart ....You know better/ That nothing is better than what we felt together at home’), well-placed in an idyllic West Coast setting (‘You can find me/ Back in California and sleeping with all the lights on’), but there are also allusions to romantic realism: ‘Good girls don't exist/ But I expected more than this’. The escapist feel-good vibes that filters through is more than enough to distract from the some of the song’s cliched imagery and metaphors (e.g. ‘Dancing on the line of a dangerous love’).
Their time spent touring with young alt-pop figureheads like Troye Sivan and Halsey appears to have influenced their approach towards music videos. Their second music video savvily associates itself with the success of their breakout hit “ILYSB” (I Love You So Bad) by creating a cinematic continuity between the two singles:
"'Good Girls' addresses the emotions of disappointment and unmet expectations battling against unconditional love and second/infinite chances. Considering the narrative of the "ILYSB" music video, I thought it'd be cool to set up the storyline of this specific song as a potential prequel. Watch 'till the end."
Paul Jason Klein, AltPress
