Songs about love and heartbreak have been made since time immemorial. But what makes LANY stand out is their dreamy music while occasionally shifting from warm and cool tones, as well as the rawness of their lyricism. The duo pours their souls into their music and lyrics, and for many, their songs make you feel as if you’re coasting through a world of strong emotions. From heartbreak to love and everything in between, LANY knows how to channel your own experiences and translate them into their own performances. Really, listening to their music feels like reminiscing.
As they gear for the release of their next album, the indie-pop band has recently released their two singles ‘Love At First Fight’ and ‘Alonica’.
We take a look at some of our favourite music videos, of course, starting with ‘Love At First Fight’!
1. Love At First Fight
Set on the stage of an auditorium with Styrofoam backgrounds, LANY whimsically plays on the prop instruments as if they were performing in front of a live audience. The song itself is fun and ecstatic, mirrored by the innocence of the music video itself, but the lyrics dive deeper into the vulnerabilities of relationships. The bareness on the set as Paul Klein sings about falling deeper in love after conflicts shows that he’s willing to reconcile and understand the other fully.
At the end of the music video, we see Paul coming out of the curtains on his own to sentimentally play a snippet of ‘Alonica’, while a man in a spacesuit watches him from the empty seats.
2. ILYSB
When ‘ILYSB’ was released, it was during the fresh years of the streaming industry, and the song took the world by storm. ‘ILYSB’ was easily LANY’s breakout song onto the global stage, and it was everyone’s little love letter to someone else back in the day. Having only had a small population of dedicated fans, it’s nice to think how from playing for small gigs in bars, they’ve now embarked on tours worldwide.
3. Thick and Thin
In ‘Thick and Thin’, we find Paul riding on the trunk of a car as it cruises down the coast of Malibu. There, he sings his heart out, and the performance was done so beautifully in a single-take that ‘Thick and Thin’ became a sunset roadtrip song for many. It’s such a simple music video, but the difficulty of sitting outside a moving car’s trunk emphasised the song’s message of the resilience and beauty in love and relationships.
4. I Quit Drinking
The collaboration between LANY and Kelsea Ballerini takes the cake, flipping the idea of alcohol as a heartbreak coping mechanism around. They’d rather avoid the things that remind them of the good times they’ve had together, and like a movie scene, the two sing each other’s hearts out to one another under the rain. Both Paul and Kelsea’s musical styles blend perfectly, giving an indie-pop mix to a country song.
5. Malibu Nights
It’s a simple video, really, but probably Paul’s most cinematic performance yet. ‘Malibu Nights’ has Paul sitting on his glass piano under a moonlit beach with the waves crashing into him as he sings his heart and soul for his broken heart. Slowly, the tides creep up and try to take him in, but Paul struggles hard to hold onto his piano and keep playing. Loneliness, longing, and healing became the chorus of its own song, and it’s not surprising that the emotional depth and production of the music video is critically-acclaimed.
SEE ALSO: 10 LANY Lyrics to Help You Pen That Letter to Your Ex
6. Mean It
‘Mean It’ was one for the books as LANY and Lauv both shared the same love for their indie-pop sensibilities and love songs. Both singers made an enjoyable and meaningful track as they sang about genuine relationships and connections. Set in a desert, the background eventually starts to become more colourful, and as Paul and Lauv meet up, they purely enjoy and dance around each other’s presence.
7. Super Far
A true vibe. ‘Super Far’ is the song you can just chill to, or dance to, and maybe have a roadtrip with. Anything, really. Here, Paul is joined by his fellow LANY members Jake Gloss and Les Priest (who has since left to pursue his own musical stylings). They have their own choreographed dance routine as they sing about yearning and connection and how distance makes the heart grow fonder. ‘Super Far’, while amusing to listen to, sings about the inevitable struggles that long-distance relationships face and how they also end.
8. Thru These Tears
This time, ‘Thru These Tears’ takes us on the journey of a breakup, and what comes after. It’s better to say the song is about the difficulties of moving on when you’re fresh out of a relationship, and how the aftermath is just difficult. In a metaphorical sense, Paul is seeing being resuscitated and eventually losing his own life, before he wakes up in a different world, or maybe dimension. He eventually gets back up after mourning and acknowledging his own heartbreak, and by the end he’s seen riding a cab off to who knows where, sending a message that you can still get back up from a broken heart even if you don’t know where to go from there.
9. Taking Me Back
This music video was their most raw, showing LANY behind the scenes and looking back at their concerts. What’s more, they pan the cameras to their own fans having the time of their lives and becoming overall proof of LANY’s impact as artists. Looking closer, ‘Taking Me Back’ is a reminiscent song about relationships that have run their course and hoping there’s still a chance for things to work out.
10. Alonica
“Alonica – a place within yourself where being you and having you is enough for you.”
At the start of the music video, we’re given the definition of ‘Alonica’. The man in the spacesuit seen in ‘Love At First Fight’ walks down a gloomy beach and strolls around in his own world, and upon taking off the mask, the astronaut is revealed to be Paul Klein himself.
In a world full of noise, it’s easy to get lost within all the chaos. To be alone in your own safe space and find yourself once more was the essential message of the song, and this is emphasised in Paul’s tired and sad expressions as he wanders through the sand. In ‘Alonica’, Paul is an alien in his own safe space. The song’s slower melody combined with the sounds of waves crashing on the shore seemingly seemed like a response to ‘Malibu Nights’, but this time, Paul stands on his own two feet.
Most videos of LANY show Paul Klein showing a range of emotions, and rightfully so. He paints himself as a man who isn’t afraid to strip himself of all his walls, and only sings about what he understands and experiences. His ability to connect with his audience is through the power to just be himself and feel everything he feels. There are many other songs in LANY’s discography that really touch your heart, and there’s probably at least one song that you can relate to in its entirety.
LANY’s new album i really really hope so is out September 29.
