Biography
To the list of musical monikers that includes such seemingly contradictory terms as “soft rock†and “rap music,†we can now safely add the genre: deep pop. As a music industry outsider who pursued a nursing degree before coming to Nashville, Centricity Records’ silky-voiced Lanae’ Hale barely had time to adjust to her new surroundings before she found herself with a record deal. In the space of less than a year, Lanae’ emerged as a purveyor of the sort of sophisticated, artful, accessible melodies that cemented the reputations of groups like the Cranberries and Sixpence None The Richer. In Lanae’s case, however, there was also the added vulnerability of her own challenging life story filtered through her singer-songwriter sensibilities.
A 2007 EP hinted at the sort of honest, quirky fare the 24-year-old newlywed and Florida transplant had to offer. Now, her first full-length Centricity album, Back & Forth, makes good on that promise as an engaging collection of highly crafted melodic and lyric expressions. Eschewing standard pop cliches, Lanae’ carves out her own unique and personable creative space on the new project, allowing her songs to unfold unexpectedly and with a strong dose of self-revelation born of her own sense of struggle.
Tag-team produced by Mark Hammond (Nichole Nordeman, Ashley Tisdale) and Allen Salmon (Seabird, This Beautiful Republic) Back & Forth is constructed with an underlying sense of “before and after.†Some songs reflect the psalm-like intensity of a journey through the darker moments of life, while others celebrate the freedom, hope and redemption that ultimately follows.
“The songs on If I’m Broken aren’t all autobiographical,†Lanae’ explains, “but they are the result of living through some desperate moments and some years of pain, and of making that journey with Christ to find hope and wholeness again. And there are definitely autobiographical elements in there too.â€
Several of Lanae’s new songs, like Back & Forth with its wall of sound chorus, and Here’s My Heart with its soaring sense of self-abandonment, reflect a tangible humility born of Lanae’s recognition of her own daily dependence on God. Others, like the yearning, string-laced If I’m Broken, echo the moment of Lanae’s own surrender to God. Woven through the entire project though, is the sense of a real person expressing real emotion. And for listeners, Lanae’s willingness to be transparent in her art naturally seems to create a string of “me too†moments that beckons them into a place of redemptive honesty where their own struggles can be acknowledged. [Full Story]
As I sit on this old wooden paint-chipped bench positioned in the center of this town square, I feel the chaotic bustle of what we as a society have come to recognize as normalcy. I watch as people hurriedly rub shoulders in route to their desired destination, and not once look up to acknowledge the existence of the others surrounding them.I am currently listening to Album Leaf on my headphones. I am slowly swept away by the mesmeric melodic masonry flooding my ears. I begin to feel the sun warming my cheeks and the breeze slightly lifting my hair. I look up to the sky and I am captured by the sea of blue above. The white cloud accents remind me of the ocean and its white foamed waves. I am brought to a place of complete awe and tearful gratitude for the love and provision the Creator of all brings.My eyes fall back upon the crowd of people whose eyes lack the color of life...of freedom. I am reminded that music truly is a gift to the soul. A simple melody has a way of lifting downcast eyes and healing hidden brokenness. I am moved and impassioned to touch the seemingly hopeless with song. I desire to paint the melodies of life, acknowledging the reality of unbearable heartaches, but splashing the canvas with the redeeming hope that I have come to know. As I journey through this life, my experiences and those I observe become part of the melodic pictures I paint. And now, friends, I invite you to come and journey with me. I am excited as I continue to collect wisdom through the painful places for it is through trials that a heart is made stronger.
Spring Again
by Lanae' Hale
As I walk along this snow dusted trail, I unfold the collar of my leather jacket in hopes of encouraging bodily warmth. With hands nestled back into my front pockets, i continue my hike. I let my eyes investigate the silent scenery that lie in front of me as my mind drifts in and out of deep thought. All the trees that once stood strong and sturdy with the lush greenery embracing their branches, now stand silent and empty. The branches, now bare and frail, begin to crack and break beneath the weight of the snow claiming territory on its limbs. I begin to silently cry, as a gust of cold air sweeps over my entire body, "I just want winter to be over already. I can't wait for spring to come and save me from winter's deathly chill. I miss the song of the birds floating through the warm air. I miss the bright colored flowers and the newly bloomed kelly green leaves. I miss feeling free to run and deeply inhale all the fresh scents that new life and growth offer."
As i consider this scene and the earthly seasons, I am reminded of the seasons that we as believers encounter in our Christain lives. The song Spring Again speaks about a rut we, as followers of Christ, sometime get stuck in. I have found that sometimes when a failure dive takes place, there is not an immediate revival. Often times we stay face planted in the dirt and wallow in guilt, fear, self pity, or whatever else the enemy likes to throw our way. There is great danger in remaining in this paralytical state. We begin to grow cold and numb to life and love. Isolation sets in, along with icy silence. It is then that we realize the toll "winter" has taken on our souls and we cry for help and long for life to rejuvenate our brittled bones.