Recommended tracks: “Know You Naked,” “Act My Age,” “Destiny”
Artists you might like: Lauv, The 1975, The Band CAMINO
LANY’s Soft transforms heavy pain into something weirdly beautiful. There’s this gutsy, almost reckless bravery in letting yourself feel again after you’ve been burned. On their newest album, the duo has turned vulnerability into strength and celebrates the courage it takes to let love back in after devastation, proving that surviving isn’t just about endurance, but rather growing stronger, softer, and more alive than ever.
“It’s so easy to let the challenges of the world harden you. The hardest thing to do is fight against it — to stay soft. To protect your softness and the things that you love.”
Frontman Paul Klein was hit by a car while driving his Vespa home from the gym in June 2024. He was hospitalized after suffering severe injuries such as a shin bone fracture, a facial fracture, and a torn calf muscle. LANY’s story could have ended when Klein was struck by a car and left for dead.
But instead, it became a pivotal moment. Out of the wreckage came Soft, an album that breathes new perspective and tenderness into life — the kind of clarity that only comes from almost losing everything. “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he says.
“Living when you shoulda died puts things into such a diff[erent] perspective, resulting in the craziest chain reaction of internal glow up. Highly recommend. I had let the hurtful words and actions of others change who I was and who I was meant to be. The hardening of my heart was standing in the way of my full potential and power. God knew I needed a shake up so he gave it to me. He’s the best. Now I’m the strongest AND the softest I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
That experience ties directly into the heart of Soft, which explores the strength it takes to stay open when life tells you to shut down. Usually, concept albums get lost in their own sauce, but LANY lit the fuse exactly where it needed to be. Every song falls into place, like dominoes you actually want to watch fall.
The indie-pop duo cuts straight to the album’s core with its title track before sinking into introspection on “Why.” You’ll immediately notice that this LP sounds a lot like their previous work, with a bit more refinement. Even though fans might adore that sound, it renders the question on if they can draw in new listeners. However, that doesn’t change the fact that this is a fantastic, well-organized body of work that merits recognition where credit is due.
Someone needs to get Klein on Dancing With The Stars immediately because LANY choreography is SO back. “Know You Naked” kickstarted the Soft era two months ago, and it’s been stuck in my head ever since. It’s racked up over 10 million streams on Spotify, so they clearly did something right. “Last Forever” came next, and though it’s only been out for a month, it’s already soundtracked some of life’s biggest moments — including being the first dance song at the wedding of longtime LANY fans, Francesca and Ell.
As someone in their early twenties, it’s an interesting time — some people are getting married and having babies, while others are Googling “how to make a grilled cheese.” No song captures that idea more than “Act My Age.” Music finds you when you need it most, and this one certainly found me: “Am I too rich to be this cheap? / Am I too old to feel this free? / Growing up means giving up / Everybody’s giving up on me / I bleach my hair and paint my nails / Most days I wake up in hotels / My favorite thing to drink is whisky / I play guitar to pay my bills / All of my friends back home got married / While I’m still going on first dates / Sometimes I wonder what I’m missing / What does it mean to act my age? / What does it mean? / Where do I go? / Somebody tell me / I’m dying to know.”
LANY has always had a knack for turning heartbreak into something cinematic, and “Make Me Forget” is no exception. The track captures the essence of a love that softens the edges of everything that came before it: “It’s like my heart’s never been built up and ripped out of my chest / You make me forget.”
“Destiny” is a love song that looks up at the stars, but keeps both feet on the ground. It’s kismet in the way it talks about connection, as if two people were always meant to find each other. You can feel the courage it takes to let someone in with the line, “With my arms wide open and a deep devotion,” before the singer bursts into “my soul’s on fire, nothing gets me higher.” It’s not just about passion, but about finding someone who makes you feel truly alive. Later, in “just cause my heart’s been broken, doesn’t mean it won’t work,” the song reveals its beating heart: hope after disappointment. “Destiny” reminds us to believe in something bigger than ourselves and that some loves really are written in the stars.
