Size doesn’t matter for Lany
Less than a year after selling out the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the LA indie pop duo returned for an intimate sold-out show to preview new tracks off their upcoming record
WHATEVER your heartbreak, there is probably a Lany song for it. Don’t be fooled by the indie pop duo’s sugary synth and upbeat-sounding melodies because songwriter-frontman Paul Jason Klein is not one to hold back when it comes to revisiting past loves in his lyrics.
It is for this reason the duo’s millennial and Gen-Z fanbase connect most with the material. All 1,500 tickets to their intimate and stripped-back show at the Mediacorp Theatre on Tuesday (Aug 15) flew out the box office the same day they went on sale.
The gig came less than a year after 2022’s larger sold-out affair, A November to Remember, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and is part of the First the Moon, Then the Stars: A Tour Before the World Tour jaunt, where Klein and drummer Jake Goss play smaller venues than they usually would in selected cities to preview tracks from their upcoming album, I Really, Really Hope So.
Four new tunes from that fifth record sneaked their way into the hit-filled 21-song set list on Tuesday, with the poppy XXL opening the night. Though the song has been on air for under two months, the crowd was already more than familiar with it, singing the catchy chorus back to Klein.
A quick succession of hit singles followed – ex i never had, Thick and Thin, and Good Girls – before another new song, the country-influenced Love at First Fight, got an airing. The two remaining tracks off the new album due in September hint at a potentially darker and more introspective record – with Nobody Else and Alonica both being down-tempo ballads that share the pensive mood of 2018’s piano-driven Malibu Night.
Alonica closed the main set before Lany returned to the stage for a two-song encore of you! and ILYSB. Never mind the crowd was only a fraction of last year’s, because the boisterous sing-along was enough to rival the Indoor Stadium show and threatened to blow Mediacorp Theatre’s roof off.
Klein requested everyone to get on their feet the moment the band took the stage. Many readily obliged. The youthful energy of the crowd was infectious and Klein evidently fed off it, prancing tirelessly on stage. At one point, he even jumped into the front rows to sing the final verse of If You See Her with the diehard fans.
There might be plenty of angst in those lyrics, but boy, does it hurt so good.
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.