This past weekend, pop-rock group LANY released their third studio album titled mama's boy and it lived up to the hype! The band is criminally underrated, but is slowly gaining popularity with every new release, and I think this new album is gonna be huge!
LANY is made up of lead-singer Paul Jason Klein, Charles Leslie "Les" Priest, and Jake Clifford Goss. The three friends formed the group in 2014 and have released three studio albums as of now.
This new album explores the different stages of a relationship and addresses how loving is not always easy (sorry, Rex Orange County). Here is an in-depth look at the songs from mama's boy by LANY.
In you!, Klein sings about a new girl that has entered his life, and now he can't picture his life without her. It's a sweet song about a fresh relationship.
Favorite lyric: Like water in the desert
Impossible to find
But you found me when I was broken
Put me back together, gave me life
Track two, titled cowboy in LA, pays homage to his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He sings of how he feels like an outsider as a musician in the big city (in a good way) and is proud of his roots. His inviting a girl to take a chance on something different: a southern gentlemen in California.
Favorite lyric: Yeah, all the other boys in town
All look and talk the same
But I got a different kind of heart
I'm a cowboy, a cowboy in L.A.
heart won't let me was difficult to hear upon the first listen. It is about staying in the wrong relationship because you are so scared to leave. You cling to the small moments of goodness, which prevents you from getting out.
Favorite lyric: Not okay, God I hate, hate the place we're in
But I forget for a sec when I kiss your lips
if this is the last time moves in a different direction than the rest of the album. It is a love letter to family about how every moment is precious and to never take advantage of a moment with them.
Favorite lyric: If this is the last time, please come close
I love you with all my heart, you know
I don't wanna cry, I'm bad at goodbye
If this is the last time
Track five is a bold concept. i still talk to jesus is about how a church door is always cracked open in Klein's mind. He confesses how much he's messed up but looks to be better, but still talks to Jesus. The choir in the background really ties it all together.
Favorite lyric: I don't change my ways, I don't change my shirt
I go from the club straight to the church
It's the same prayer, it's the same hurt
paper refers to a relationship behind the scenes. The couple puts on a front when they leave the house and look happy in front of friends and family, but they have issues behind closed doors. Looking good on paper is not enough to save the relationship.
Favorite lyric: Posin' for a photograph, we smile and play pretend
Is there any part of you that's tired of lying?
Klein parallels good guys to the "nice guys finish last" mentality relevant in today's dating culture. He is afraid to be to forward and completely honest with this girl in fear of her not caring, or moving on to someone else. Klein is tired of "playing the game" with this girl and wants her all to himself, which is a countercultural perspective to dating in the 21st century. I love his mentality in this song.
Favorite lyric: When you stay out late
And I don't hear back
I always wonder where you've been but
I don't ask
In sharing you, he sings of the in-between of a friendship to relationship. He's jealous of other people who occupy this girl's time because he has a hard time sharing her.
Favorite lyric: Take my hand, I swear to God, there's nothing we can't do
Tell me what you're scared of, I bet I'm scared of it too
bad news takes us back to our teenage years. It reminds me of a young girl getting into something with a bad boy. Another theory could be about Klein himself being non-committal due to him touring in a band; it's a warning not to fall in love with him. Either way, the tension is there.
Favorite lyric: Think we should stop before it gets deep
Don't wanna make promises that I know I can't keep
when you're drunk is pretty self-explanatory. This girl only wants him when she's had too much to drink, in the middle of the night, or any other time she's not completely in her right mind.
Favorite lyric: If the only time you ever think of us
When you're out and had a little bit too much
Is it love?
Is it true if you say it in the middle of the night?
Or you're caught up in your feelings on a flight
Track ten, anything 4 u, displays a boy stuck in the freindzone. He's over it and finally confesses his feelings for the girl he's loved for years. The girl is oblivious, but Klein is determined to let her know how he feels.
Favorite lyric: I'm something so familiar
That you don't even notice
The way I wanna love ya
sad is about the aftermath of a terrible breakup. She's moved on and it's destroyed him. Now, he wants nothing more than to hurt her the same way she hurt him.
Favorite lyric: You cut your hair, you dried your tears
You look happier than ever
And I hear he's nice and treats you well
I wish that I had loved you better
Track 13, titled (what i wish just one person would say to me), expresses how difficult it is to maintain successful relationships while being in LANY. Told in someone else's perspective, someone else is saying these words to Klein. He yearns for that one person to tell him it's all gonna be okay, and they are happy for him, and most importantly, that they'll stay.
Favorite lyric: I'm here to stay, I'll find a way, I know it hurts
There's no one else, I'll go through hell to make it work
nobody else, the closing track, Klein sings about finally finding his person. He wants a friend and a lover at the same time. It's an excellent final track
Favorite lyric: And if heaven doesn't want us, would you go with me to hell?
Hope you know I don't want nobody else
