Last May, LANY played an intimate show at D.C.’s Rock & Roll Hotel on their sold out Make Out Tour. Now, with an opening slot on Ellie Goulding’s tour, a few noteworthy festival performances and their first headline tour under their belt, the Los Angeles-based trio is back and bigger.
Moving on from the tiny 400-capacity venue, LANY is set to return to D.C. for a show at the 9:30 Club on Monday, Oct. 24.
The trio, consisting of lead singer Paul Jason Klein, Jake Goss and Les Priest, has only been around for two years. The three originally met in Nashville, Tennessee, but they didn’t start making music together until 2014 after Klein moved to Los Angeles.
In the short time since LANY began, they’ve released four EPs, toured with stars like Goulding, Troye Sivan and Halsey, and reached No. 39 on Spotify’s 100 emerging artists from SXSW in 2015.
LANY’s music heavily draws from ’80s pop and ’90s R&B influences. With titles like “(OMG),” “BRB / Kiss” and “Made in Hollywood,” and a dreamy, synth-heavy sound, their songs perfectly encapsulate west-coast millennials’ spirit.
Klein’s lyrics are filled with musings on relationships, both good and bad. Lines like “Baby I just love the way you love me, the classic kind that’s filmed in black and white,” from “4Ever!” make great use of the romanticised lens through which young love is often viewed.
But it’s not all about love with LANY; their songs are also laced with everyday details of youth culture. Klein sings of “thrift store fashion, imperfect tattoos,” in “pink skies” and “white jeans, daydreams… wearing Nike,” in “yea, babe, no way.”
In fact, the group even has a whole song dedicated to the FOMO, or fear of missing out, phenomenon, with “WHERE THE HELL ARE MY FRIENDS.”
LANY is the type of music you want to listen to while driving down California’s Pacific Coast Highway at sunset. When that option isn’t feasible, it works just as well through headphones in your bedroom, reminiscing on past relationships or daydreaming about a current crush.
Simply put, LANY’s catchy melodies and soothing vocals make them fun to listen to in any setting.
LANY kicked off their second headline tour in Europe this August in support of their latest six-track EP, kinda, before touring the States.
Tickets for their D.C. show can be purchased here.
Featured Photo Credit: Feature photo courtesy of LANY on Facebook.
Casey Tomchek is a sophomore journalism and English double major and can be reached at ctomchek1@gmail.com.
