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There’s something otherworldly about LAYNE. I discovered this band a little while back, one of the rare times I’ve compulsively bought an entire album.
LAYNE’s music has some serious depth to it, almost seeming to call to the listener from far away. Though their songs are generally quick-paced and exciting, they aren’t the type of thing I’d listen to at the gym. It’s more like something I’d have playing on a long night drive through the city.
It’s lonely music, reflective stuff. Songs like “Brand New” seem intentionally engineered this way, but even their more active songs such as “Warrior” have entirely too much meaning for me to sweat to.
Lead singer Layne Putnam, LAYNE’s namesake, is always drawing me in, taking hold of my attention and wrapping it around her lyrics until the track has run its course.
In an interview with Eric Lochridge of “The Rapid City Journal”, Layne Putnam said, “I think Adele and John Mayer have influenced me because they’re so emotional, and that’s my target — to make you feel something when you hear it.” As a relatively new fan, I can say that LAYNE certainly succeeded!
As a man in my early twenties, the question repeatedly posed in “Warrior” had me thinking hard about who I was and where I wanted to go. “What ya gonna do, what ya gonna do?” the song asked me.
I thought it was a good question that I took with me into the night and the following week. Here lies the key, I believe, to LAYNE’s success. You can’t forget the music.
It’s so applicable that it manages to fuse with your critical mind and creates a home for itself in your mental radio.
It’s hard to categorize LAYNE’s style. iTunes lists the band as “alternative”, but that term doesn’t seem to contain all that this artist is.