Coachella Band Preview: LANY

So just FYI Coachella Weekend One is officially in 1 month! Yes, that’s right. One month today and its Day 1 of Coachella 2018. Just soak that in for a second……sigh. Until then though, there’s a few more bands I want you to know about before you bust out those flower crowns. This week you need to check out LANY.

LANY based out of Los Angeles, California is comprised of members Paul Klein, Charles Leslie “Les” Priest, and Jacob Goss. The band’s name, pronounced LAY-NEE, is actually the acronym for Los Angeles & New York (L.A., N.Y.). The band formed around 2014 and started to receive buzz from their SoundCloud release “ILYSB” off their first EP Acronyms. They anonymously released the EP, but revealed themselves after releasing two more singles on SoundCloud “Made in Hollywood” and “Bad, Bad, Bad”. In 2015 they toured in support of Twin Shadow, Tove Styrke, X Ambassadors, Troye Sivan, and Halsey. They also released a second EP I Love You.

Later in 2015 they signed to Polydor Records. They released the EP Make Out under their new label which consisted of all the songs they released before I Love You. In 2016, LANY toured in support of Ellie Goulding on her UK tour and Troye Sivan. They also announced their first U.S. headlining tour. LANY played several music festivals in 2016 in addition to two headlining tours which included Bonnaroo, Firefly, and Outside Lands.

In 2017 the band released their debut album, LANY, on June 30th. They spent the majority of 2017 touring worldwide and also playing music festivals. Their appearance at Coachella this year will mark their first visit to the Empire Polo Fields.

Their music style is mostly indie pop or dream pop. Although they’re described as being indie pop, their style is a soft kind of indie pop. It really is a strong mixture of that style and dream pop. A lot of their songs have themes involving love and romance, but honestly those themes fit their sound because their tracks are perfect make out jams or baby-making music.

I found out about LANY through my favorite soccer player’s monthly playlists that she made available to fans. After finding out about LANY, I would occasionally download a song once new singles were released. I never had a desire to see them perform live, but I think a festival is the perfect opportunity.

LANY plays Sunday at Coachella. As for timing, your guess is as good as mine. I’d expect to see them at Gobi or Mojave if they play later in the day. If they’re playing in an early afternoon time slot, they could possibly be performing on the Main Stage or Outdoor as well. As long as they do play earlier, they’d be an act I would love to catch since I’ve been following them here and there for the last 2-3 years. If an early set time is the case, I highly recommend you check them out. The only Sunday act in a similar set time scenario that I’d recommend over them would be Hayley Kiyoko. That’s because I’m biased, but I’ll get into her again in a week or two. For now, here’s a few song by LANY to get you ready for their first Coachella set:

1. Super Far
2. ILYSB
3. Good Girls
4. yea, babe, no way
5. Where the Hell Are My Friends?
6. pink skies
7. 13
8. current location
9. Bad, Bad, Bad
10. like you lots

Coachella Band Preview: Tove Lo

This is it. The final blog post before the big first weekend. I make my journey out there in two days and I can’t wait to be among that festival atmosphere. Hopefully I get a chance to see one or two of these amazing bands or artists I’ve previewed, but I keep my expectations low to avoid disappointment just in case. The final artist I decided to preview is a Swedish singer/songwriter known as Tove Lo.

Tove Lo, whose real name is Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson, first came on to the music scene in 2014. Her career journey started way before that though. While growing up she went to music school and even became friends with Caroline Hjelt, who went on to form Icona Pop. By the end of her teenage years she formed the rock band Tremblebee. After the band broke up she decided to go after a songwriting career and earned a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2011. Through that she often wrote and recorded her own compositions which lead to her eventual record deal.

Her stage name comes from a nickname she had growing up. Tove is part of her real name and Lo is the Swedish word for Lynx, which was her favorite animal growing up. Tove Lo’s first performances were in London and at SXSW in 2014 right around the time she released her first EP Truth Serum. The EP contained one of her most popular hits, “Habits”, which she released independently even before the EP came out. The track was re-titled “Habits (Stay High)” for Truth Serum and earned her breakout success as one of the hottest new artists of 2014. Her debut album Queen of the Clouds was released on September 24, 2014. It had much success making the top 20 on album charts in the U.S., the U.K., and Sweden. In Sweden the album is certified platinum. Towards the end of 2014, Tove Lo joined the third leg of Katy Perry’s Prismatic World Tour as the opening artist.

By early 2015 though, the breakout artist needed to take a little time away from singing as she had to have surgery on her vocal chords to remove cysts that had developed. Near the end of the year she was back at it touring across North America in support of the re-packaged edition of Queen of the Clouds which was released in October of 2015. The year rewarded Tove Lo with two Grammi Awards (Swedish version of the Grammys) and a Grammy nomination for her writing credit on Ellie Goulding’s song “Love Me Like You Do”.

In 2016 the Swedish singer announced she would be releasing her second album later in the year. She toured as the opening act for Maroon 5 to promote the upcoming release. She released the first single from her new album Lady Wood in early August called “Cool Girl”. The album was released on October 28, 2016. Tove Lo recently went on a solo tour in support of Lady Wood and has plans to join Coldplay’s upcoming tour as an opening act this summer.

Along with her own success, Tove Lo has also been involved in many successful collaborations with artists such as Nick Jonas, Coldplay, and Flume, as well as earning songwriting credits for many well known artists such as Ellie Goulding, Hillary Duff, Victoria Justice, Lea Michele, and Icona Pop. One of her most successful collaborations came in 2015 when she sang on Swedish DJ Alesso’s track “Heroes (We Could Be)”. The single had high chart success in Sweden, the U.K., and the U.S.

Tove Lo’s music style is an alternative style of pop music. It might be considered synthpop or electropop. It definitely has an electronic influence and is a bit darker than your standard pop music as well. A lot of her songs have this sexual type of feel and sound. I’m not saying that’s the intention with her music either. Her style is just perfect baby making music.

I don’t remember when I first heard of Tove Lo. I know I knew her song “Habits (Stay High)” before anything else. I didn’t really like the song though, which is probably because I would only ever hear it on mainstream pop radio. Even though I’m not a huge fan of listening to that type of radio, I have a guilty pleasure song or two that gets overplayed. “Habits” was not one of those. “Talking Body” was though. I first heard “Talking Body” on a Spotify playlist and I really liked the song. It was even part of my work out playlist for a while. I never really got hooked on any of her other songs though, but I think at that point I appreciated her as more of an alternative pop artist.

So for the second week in a row why am I previewing this artist that I’ve never gotten into? In fact compared to Two Door Cinema Club, I don’t even own any of Tove Lo’s records. Well it’s pretty simple. Tove Lo plays Sunday at Coachella and I’ve only previewed two other Sunday acts, Lorde and Grouplove. If I had the whole festival to just hang out and see music, there would only be 2 performances that I’d really wanna see on Sunday which frees up a ton of the day. My familiarity with Tove Lo would make me want to check her set out. I think she’ll put on a great set and I definitely suggest you check her out if you have time on Sunday. Here’s a few songs you might want to know first:

1. Habits (Stay High)
2. Talking Body
3. Cool Girl
4. True Disaster
5. Influence
6. Moments
7. Not On Drugs
8. Got Love
9. Heroes (We Could Be) (w/ Alesso)
10. Say It (w/ Flume)

 

 

The 1975

It’s astounding how many great bands/singers/music artists are from the UK. It often seems like most of the bands I blog about are from there. Even many legendary groups throughout history, like The Beatles, The Who, Queen, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin, are British. So therefore, it wouldn’t surprise you that the band I’m writing about this week also hails from the UK.

The 1975 formed in Manchester, England in 2002 when members Matt Healy, Ross MacDonald, Adam Hann, and George Daniel started playing cover shows together in local clubs as teenagers. It wasn’t until August 2012 when the group released their first EP, Facedown. The band got national radio attention with their single “The City” from the EP as well as with the song “Sex” which came from their second EP of the same title (Sex) a few months later (November 2012). In March 2013, the band released their third EP, Music for Cars. “Chocolate”, a single off the EP, reached the 19th spot on the UK singles chart. The same year the band began touring to build hype for their debut album. They joined The Neighbourhood on their 2013 U.S. tour, opened for Muse and The Rolling Stones, and played at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

Their debut self-titled album came out on September 2, 2013. The 1975 spent the rest of 2013 and 2014 touring to promote the album and selling out many shows throughout Europe, North America, New Zealand, and Australia. The band plans to release their second album, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It, in February 2016. Today, they announced a North American Tour in support of the new album from April to May 2016 in select cities across the United States and Canada. Their first single off the album, “Love Me”, was released in October.

The band’s music fits into the alternative/indie pop/rock genre. At times I even feel like their sound has some 80’s pop/rock style influence, especially when I heard “Love Me” for the first time. Then there’s other times where I get this R&B feel from their music. Honestly, they no doubt fit right in with The Neighbourhood on tour in 2013. It was baby-making music for the ages. Overall though, the band has their own unique indie pop/rock sound.

I was slightly late to the party when I discovered The 1975 in April 2014. I’m not even sure how I first heard of them, but I know I listened to them for a few months before I realized their song “Chocolate” had airplay on the local alternative radio station. In a much cooler world, where I would be able to attend any live music events that I want, regardless of price, location, availability, etc., I would be attending their show either in New York City tomorrow or in Philadelphia on Saturday. I probably would have already seen them live too, if I didn’t already have plans when they played at a nearby venue at this time last year. Although I potentially would have seen them live this weekend if either show wasn’t already sold out (or if I didn’t have to pay over $100 for tickets that were originally $40), I figured why not write about this band anyway. The 1975’s success over the last few years has only escalated and it continues to grow as well.  They’re bound to enter British music history like so many before them. If you’ve never heard of these guys, you may want to check out these song recommendations or if you’re headed to an upcoming show, unlike me, you may want to re-listen to some of these song recommendations to hype you up (or if you just want some hype for the new album):

1. Sex
2. Chocolate
3. Love Me
4. The City
5. Girls
6. Robbers
7. Heart Out
8. Settle Down

The NBHD

Last weekend, I was at Best Buy looking for an item that I could spend my Best Buy Rewards mystery prize coupon on. I checked out the movies. Nothing interested me, so I figured I’d check the music. Best Buy isn’t really the best option for music. They don’t have a large selection, but they do usually have the latest releases. As I glanced over the new releases, I saw a brand new album from The Neighbourhood. My eyes lit up. I love those guys. Their first major single “Sweater Weather” was basically the anthem of my spring 2013. I didn’t even know they had new album coming out. I was definitely spending my mystery coupon on something (got the album for $5.29…WIN).

Formed in 2011, The Neighbourhood (The NBHD) hails from Newbury Park, California. The alternative, indie rock group comprised of members Jesse Rutherford (vocals), Jeremy Freedman (guitar), Zach Abels (guitar), Mikey Margott (bass), and Brandon Fried (drums) (original drummer Bryan Sammis left the group in early 2014) decided to spell their band name using the British spelling of “neighborhood” as to not be confused with another band of the same name who used the American spelling. They released two EPs in 2012, I’m Sorry… (May) and Thank You, (December) followed by the release of their first full length in April of 2013, I Love You. It debuted at number 39 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The band played dates at SXSW and Coachella that spring and toured the U.S. throughout the summer. Their single “Sweater Weather” reached number 1 on Billboard’s Alternative chart by early June 2013. The group spent 2014 touring in Europe and released a mixtape album titled #000000 & #FFFFFF (the color codes for black and white) on November 28, 2014. It wasn’t until August of 2015 that the group announced their second full length album Wiped Out! would be released on October 30th.

The Neighbourhood surely fits the bill of alternative rock, indie rock. You might even say they’re a little experimental, but to me they always sounded a bit more than those categories. Maybe it’s just lead singer Jesse Rutherford’s voice, but I feel like they have an R&B sound to the vocals mixed with a rock background. I mean listen to some of their songs and tell me it doesn’t sound like baby-making music. They basically play baby-making music for hipsters.

I first heard of The Neighbourhood in March 2013. I saw a friend tweet about the song “Sweater Weather” so, of course, since I’m always looking for new music, I looked up the song. I fell in love. It was my jam for a couple weeks straight. The first week I listened to it on repeat constantly. I remember playing it for my friends when I picked them up for our weekly hang out of watching the TV show Pretty Little Liars. If I had a soundtrack for my life, that song would definitely be a part of it because it became synonymous with that incredibly inspirational time period (for other reasons unrelated to The NBHD). After that, I eventually heard other songs by The Neighbourhood and took a liking to them as well (not quite as much as “Sweater Weather”, but they were still pretty good). My friend bought me the album for Christmas that year and I had it on replay in my car for a while. That’s why finding their newest release at Best Buy last weekend was such a pleasant surprise, especially since the new record is awesome.

The new album has that same groove featured most of their songs (*cough cough* baby-making music). Their latest single “R.I.P. to My Youth” is the final track. Rutherford almost seems to sing-rap the verses while coming in with his signature smooth vocals on the chorus. Songs like “The Beach”, “Daddy Issues”, and “Baby Came Home 2/Valentines” are almost pushing into the rock ballad category, while other songs like “Prey” and “Cry Baby” lead into the record with that signature Neighbourhood sound. I even got the impression of some folk undertones in the song “Single”. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the new album is the first track “A Moment of Silence”. It actually is a moment of silence, or 30 seconds, if you want to get technical. Popping the record in my car’s CD player without looking at the names of the track-listing, I was confused by it at first. I waited for the album to start, only to hear dead air. Then, when a song started playing, it was already on the second track. It was seriously about 15 minutes ago while researching these guys that I understood my confusion. If you’re already a fan of The Neighbourhood, I recommend picking up this album. It features hints of other music styles while still sticking to their sound roots. I also recommend the album if you have a date scheduled with your significant other and you really want to get into their pants. In fact, I have other songs I can recommend for that too:

1. Sweater Weather
2. Afraid
3. Flawless
4. Female Robbery
5. W.D.Y.W.F.M.?
6. West Coast
7. #icanteven
8. No Grey
9. Wires
10. The entirety of Wiped Out!