LANY

Los Angeles-based band LANY craft dreamy pop with an R&B spirit, as heard on early EPs and their debut full-length, 2017′s LANY. They had another Top 40 showing with their 2018 sophomore LP, Malibu Nights, before landing their first Hot 100 hit single in 2019 with the Lauv collaboration “Mean It.” In 2020, the band reached a chart peak with the Top Ten Mama's Boy, following it a year later with the Andrew Goldstein-produced gg bb xx. Folowing a lineup change, the band returned with the 2023 single “Love at First Fight.”
Formed in Nashville in 2014 by three friends — Paul Jason Klein from Tulsa and Leslie Priest and Jake Goss from Nashville — the members of LANY studied music in college and are multi-instrumentalists. During a trip from L.A. to Nashville, Klein hooked up with Priest and Goss, who were working on their own project, WRLDS. They decided to start something new together and LANY was born. The band’s name (pronounced “Lay-nee”) is a nod to Los Angeles and New York, marking their desire to spread their music from coast to coast with a sound that combines the feel of ’80s radio pop, ’90s R&B-soul, and atmospheric synths.
LANY recorded their first two songs — “Hot Lights” and “Walk Away” — in four days. Continuing a prolific streak, they issued the three-song debut EP Acronyms and the five-track I Loved You. The band continued to build a following while on the road, touring with Troye Sivan, Ellie Goulding, Halsey, and X Ambassadors. The group eventually signed with Polydor Records in December 2015. They released a third EP, the six-track Make Out, which culled tracks from their previous releases, including the song “ILYSB” (“I Love You So Bad”). The track was a hit online, exceeding 100,000 streams, and was later certified gold.
When LANY embarked on a world tour in 2016, they released “Where the Hell Are My Friends.” That single would later appear on their kinda EP, which was released in June that same year. Their self-titled debut album followed in 2017, peaking at number four on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. In early 2018, the trio issued the single “Thru These Tears,” the first offering from their sophomore LP, Malibu Nights, produced by Mike Crossey (the 1975, Arctic Monkeys). Inspired by a difficult breakup, the nine-song collection included “Thick and Thin” and “I Don’t Wanna Love You Anymore.” LANY promoted the effort with an international tour that extended into late 2019. While on the road, the band issued the collaborative singles “Okay” with Julia Michaels and “Mean It” with Lauv. The latter track became their first mainstream hit, charting on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as in Europe and Australasia.
In October 2020, LANY returned with their third effort, the Americana-inspired Mama's Boy, home to the wistful single “Good Guys.” The set featured writing from Dan Smyers (Dan + Shay), Shane McAnally, and Sasha Sloan. Upon release, the LP shot into the Top Ten on the Billboard 200, the group’s highest showing to date. “I Quit Drinking,” a June 2021 collaboration with Kelsea Ballerini, was followed by their own track “Dancing in the Kitchen” and a deluxe version of Mama's Boy. That September, LANY returned with their fourth studio album, gg bb xx, on Polydor. The album, which found them producing, alongside Andrew Goldstein and John Ryan, reached 114 on the Billboard 200. It also marked the band’s last album with keyboardist Priest, who parted ways with the group to focus on his own songwriting and production work. Now operating as a duo, LANY returned in June 2023 with “Love at First Fight,” the first single from their fifth album, I Really Really Hope So’s.~ Neil Z. Yeung