LANY

LANY (pronounced “Lay-nee”), the Los Angeles-based trio comprised of Paul Klein, Les Priest and Jake Goss, crafts alternative melodic music with an R&B spirit. Releasing their first set of songs in 2014 with no social following, fans, or even photos, their take on progressive alt-pop immediately caught the attention of audiences, and within weeks their play counts were leaping exponentially.

“I’ve always fallen head first into any relationship,” says LANY frontman Paul Klein, discussing the emotions that fuel LANY’s passionate, hazy and enthralling debut album. “I only know two speeds: 0 and 100.” The topic of accelerating from 0 to 100 might just as easily be applied to the band’s extraordinary rise. When Paul, Les & Jake put their first set of songs, “Hot Lights”/”Walk Away” and “Made In Hollywood,” online at the end of 2014 they had no social following, no fans and no photos; within weeks, their play counts were leaping exponentially.

Trusting their instincts paid off. Six days later they got an email from a UK record label. “It was so unexpected that I thought it was spam,” Paul laughs. “The next day, other labels emailed. There was only one person I knew who might know if the emails were genuine, and he [Rupert Lincoln] became our manager.” Emails from across the Atlantic took a slightly surreal turn on account of the placeholder image the band had chosen to accompany their SoundCloud: as there weren’t any band photos yet, they had simply used a photo they liked of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. “People in Europe thought the photo was of us - LANY,” Paul laughs. “They kept asking: who are you, what are you, where are you, what else have you got?”  

Flash-forward to the summer of 2017 and the band’s debut album, LANY, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart, with singles “ILYSB” and “Super Far” reaching 100+ million streams each. In 2017 alone, the group racked up nearly 300 million streams on Spotify and played more than 135 live shows across 28 countries. And while it may feel counterintuitive to some for a modern band to create a full-length concept album when many view the industry as dominated by single releases, LANY views their debut album as a statement to their fans.

“I understand our fan base, and I know they're starving for a bigger body of work to get lost in,” Paul comments. “We're creating a world of LANY that people exist in, identify with and discover themselves through, and you can't do that exclusively in a four-track EP.” Cut to July 17, 2018 and after very little time off, LANY released the first single off their sophomore album. The song titled "Thru These Tears" is a euphoric anthem, and represents a bold step forward for the band, an arresting union of indelible hooks and raw emotion. The track was the pillar around which frontman Paul crafted the group’s new record. “It’s devastating but also really hopeful and optimistic,” he says.

The news followed an already massive year for the group, as they embarked on more North American headline shows, supplemented by a round of appearances playing Main Stage at all the major U.S. festivals (incl Coachella), and they continued to break their own ticket sales records traveling for a month in Australasia. Their Governor’s Ball set back in the US was met with high praise by Rolling Stone, crowning the group “The Best Stage Presence,” and lauding LANY’s star power as “out-of-this-world.”

 This first phase of album two is the definitive statement of a band with a clear vision, who are starting to match their songs with the grand ambition in their minds. LANY are primed for a thrilling and dramatic second act.