Laneous And The Family Yah are releasing their second full length album
Laneous And The Family Yah are releasing their second full length album, and have surprised this humble writer by stepping up their already impressive game into a whole new level. The sprawling ensemble have a sound that is as musically accomplished as it is idiosyncratic to the point of madness. The Brisbane collective are well known on the tour circuit for their ability to unleash a live show that crosses from soul to punk to hip hop to hardcore and back, often within the space of a few bars. They are equally as known for their ability to hold a crowd enthralled with a ballad, and with that in mind, front man Laneous is happy to hold court about the new record from The Family Yah, Found Things , which they’re launching at the Northcote Social Club this Thursday.
"This new record is still pretty eclectic, but it’s a much more direct version of Laneous and The Family Yah," he explains.
"This album’s as close as we’ve come to putting our live show down on tape. We wrote the songs on Found Things while we were on the road, so it really comes together as a cohesive record.
"Part of the reason it’s called Found Things," he adds, "is that it’s inspired by the found art movement; you find inspiration in all kinds of places. We are a mongrel band; we have taken concepts, ideas and sounds we like and have reassembled them into something that is uniquely us," he nods. "Then we punk’d that shit up some," Laneous laughs.
It’s a serious step up from their debut record St Ill. Regal, a sprawling mess of experimentation that weighed in at 80 minutes and 17 tracks and which meandered from bubble-gum pop to hip hop through soul and psychedelia, that also listened like a spiritual successor to Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life.
Found Things is an entirely different monster, weighing in at just under 40 minutes of tightly written and produced songs. Gone are the long rambling rap monologues and freakouts, replaced by tight instrumentation and musical playfulness that have made them one of Australia’s most enjoyable live bands.
"Our first record was a huge experiment. We took it into the studio and just kept writing in there, recording overdubs and adding to it until we had this massive amazing monster that kept growing. This time around we wanted to record something that really captures where we are at as a band."
In selecting material, Laneous And The Family Yah went back over all the songs they had been playing live over the years, listened to them and put together their favorites. It’s less of a concept record as a kind of ‘greatest hits’.
"Every song we’ve recorded by this has been tested on every kind of crowd," Laneous confirms. "They’ve been danced to and torn apart and put back together again better and super-powered. Have you seen how they make chicken nuggets?" he asks. "They get the whole chicken and blend into a paste and it’s pink and gross before they dye it white and reconstitute it into the world’s greatest snack. This album is chicken nuggets."
The first taste of the record is the dirty-pop ramble of I Am A Dog, which makes room for the slinky hip-hop of Ode To The Code and the almost-gentle ballad of Haunting.
The eclectic nature of the record, not to mention the incredible cohesion that survives the juxtaposition and redefinition of genres is testament to the incredible songwriting juggernaut that is the Family Yah.
"We bring the whole band in on it and everyone contributes a little bit," explains Laneous. "It’s a really good arrangement we’ve got at the moment. It’s a cool dynamic. Everyone’s got really cool playing styles and writing styles and it’s a mish-mash of coolness."
What could very easily become a creaking mess welded together with fuzzy guitars is held together masterfully by Laneous. He can go from a Prince-like smoldering vocal line into the filthiest rap verse you could imagine, before finishing it off with a searing vocal line. Image if Jimi Hendrix took Nina Simone out for a nice dinner before taking her home and never calling her again. Laneous is the product of that. He’s like human centipede sewn out of all the greatest musicians from the past 80 years.
Joining him on the Melbourne leg of the tour will be the extended Family Yah along with friends from Melbourne. "We’ve brought as much down as possible," he confirms.
"We’ve got The Family Yah, and then two members of the Bird Fire Choir, who are lovely ladies, who have their own amazing solo careers. Everyone in the band has their own thing going on back in Brisbane, so everyone brings their own thing to the show.
"We kind of form like Voltron, and play some stuff that no-one has heard before.
"We are also getting Clairy Brown & The Banging Rackettes," he adds, "along with Hugo and Treats & Ming playing with us that night. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Banging Rackettes, but they are this huge unstoppable Motown monster. There’s some of the best players in Australia in there, and about four or five frontwomen with incredible voices. We’re really excited to be playing with them.
"People who come to the show can expect to see a pretty interesting spectacle. A couple of people in the band don’t really get wasted, but most of us do, so that always adds some entertainment," he laughs. "They can expect to see a mash-up of different influences of ours, and some pretty good looking back-up singers."
LANEOUS & THE FAMILY YAH launch their kickarse new album Found Things at The Northcote Social Club this Thursday October 7 with Clairy Browne & The Bangin Rackettes and Hugo along for the ride. Tickets through 9486 1677, The Corner box office or northcotesocialclub.com. Found Things is out now through Creative Vibes.
