Lanayah is a band that defy simple genre tagging. Across their discography, it is sometimes difficult to believe that the same band could be responsible for the different songs they have produced. However, there is something inherently compelling about the band, their lyrics and the varied soundscapes they produce. From 2016’s debut album North Pinion via sophomore offering Forever in May, Lanayah have arrived at their upcoming album - I’m Picking Lights In A Field...
I’m Picking Lights In A Field... marks an expansion of the ensemble’s compositional aspirations. Spanning 40 minutes, the album was conceived, written and recorded as a single piece and later cut into four distinct movements with a total of eight tracks, interlacing across the album’s duration. That is not to say that this has diminished the impact of the piece as the opus tackles serious subject matter and dares the listener to consider the deepest emotions within the challenging narrative. Vocalist Will ‘Juno’ Callendar explains, “At its core, the record is primarily concerned with the concept of latent introspection: what happens when one starts to confront aspects of memory that we may have supressed due to trauma and mistreatment.”
Opening movement, Staring Blankly slowly evolves across the first twelve and half minutes of the album through three tracks (Aspen, Insects In Their Immersion and Staring Blankly). Across this opening trilogy, Lanayah showcase each element of their eclectic vision and experimental sound.
Aspen begins ambient and drone-like, dancing synths bubbling up from misty depths. Deliberate and steady melodic acoustic guitar takes over, while something more mysterious and intangible builds in the background. Haunting spoken word inveigles the listener as its slightly indistinct timbre builds distantly . Little mountain / Propped up where creatures stood / That they could not raise eternal.
As Insects In Their Immersion (the shortest song on the album at less than 90 seconds long) arises, the ambient segue takes on a more industrial feel and we are suddenly in a vastly different (post-metal) world and as the harshly delivered and deliberately equivocal lyrics (Insects witnessing those words that stared / Pouring from a voice and forcing me down through half a decade / Like so many tree’s eyes in glorious view of a stuttering form / My shimmering silhouette / Gleaming and the pulling of dreams from eternity) resound, the band respond with a purposeful, yet unfiltered anger. Michael Tsang’s drums along with powerful, contorted guitar recreate the nightmarish and extreme memory of the protagonist and we are drawn into his uncomfortable, yet inescapable thoughts.
Insects In Their Immersion leads directly into third track Staring Blankly as the disturbing and dark reverie continues and it seems that the ordeal will never end. However, three and a half minutes in, we are returned to what at first appears to be a more soothing mood but the feeling of unease remains. Rather than saying or doing anything to deal with any trauma, the conclusion of Staring Blankly reflects a response of shutting down, staring straight ahead and pushing out the rest of the world from inside the mind due to the battering the mind has received. Felt that emotion months later / Words that stared like me / While they bludgeoned me to death / Melted into the soil / That’s when I saw them in the wind.
The opening movement of I’m Picking Lights In A Field..., requires investment from the listener but the band have found a perfect balance between the open and exposed emotions of the protagonist and time for reflective introspection for the listener. It is a compelling beginning.
Second movement Nameless Fluttering (comprising one track of the same name) begins as the nearest thing to traditional song structure we have so far encountered but this atmosphere is not to last for long. The vocals while more positive in delivery (hinting at bright spots occurring tangentially in life) exist uneasily alongside the darker mood that builds throughout the song. Lanayah expertly create these co-existing tones forged by their ability to combine the perturbing but beguiling synths of Ari Brown and crunching guitar chords in tandem with the anguished delivery of Juno Callendar. He states that Nameless Fluttering refers to positivity which feels fake and undeserved, ultimately leading to feelings of anger towards oneself and others: Strange words to speak to its opening mouth / And to soften his beating wings / Just one more gift to the fluttering persons / And the nameless shades / It’s taking a long time.
Lanayah’s third album covers a range of genres including shoegaze, post-metal, post-rock and even some moments which drift into black and doom metal. It would be easy for such a salmagundi of styles to become confusing for the listener. While album is undeniably a difficult (but rewarding) listen and there will be some who find themselves bewildered by the knowingly unnerving feelings that swarm and bevy throughout, this is music that for many will also elicit deep feelings and possibly a profound response. Music confronting the subject of mental health is not new but it is all too easy for the depth of despair felt by those battling it on a daily basis to be lost in meaningless and clichéd lyrics. This album is no danger of falling into such an easy trap and it tackles the issue head on at full speed.
The duo of Knife, Mirror and Peak and Core form the third movement entitled Sounds That Move. Here, sensations, memories and feelings meld together to an unbearable point for the central figure during Knife, Mirror, the ending of which is amongst the most aggressive sections (musically and lyrically) on the album. But you always smiled at everything at once / At every pound of your fist / And every gnash of your teeth / And every click of your tongue. Some relief is to follow during Peak and Core but as Callendar explains all is not as it seems. “The movement ends with the thought that with any luck, experiences both positive and negative will disappear and fade over time rather than needing to be confronted anymore.”
Acknowledging the gestures love you have both shown and been shown in your life rather than continuing to battle the inverse is a key cornerstone of the conclusion of the album.
Acceptance (which is sometimes a hard-fought and imperfect necessity) of things passed or out of your own control also lives within the final part of the album. I’m Picking Lights In A Field (which opens the fourth and closing movement, Candles) is the most ethereal and delicate piece of music to be found here. It shows that opening oneself to these gestures of love can, in part, help to exorcise the all-consuming outlook of worthlessness and inadequacy but Lanayah still do not let the listener relax completely – those darker mindsets cannot be suppressed completely. Does anything know / If they’re still out there / What objects float / Their long night sojourns through the kitchen windows.
I’m Picking Lights In A Field... is a dark and at times impenetrable album. However, for anyone with an interest in intricate, complex, dense but at times exquisite music which leaves you emboldened, then this is an album you should acquaint yourself with. The subject matter by nature is taxing but it leaves you with a deeper understanding of the overriding and exhausting emotions experienced by those suffering with mental health.
Rise to Lanayah's challenge and immerse yourself...
Written: June 2023
You can visit Lanayah's bandcamp page here: https://lanayah.bandcamp.com/album/im-picking-lights-in-a-field
I'm Picking Lights In A Field... is released on 16th June 2023.
Watch the video for Nameless Fluttering below.