LANCO Release Debut 'Hallelujah Nights' Album

LANCO fans rejoice! The band's freshman record, Hallelujah Nights, is finally out, released Friday, Jan. 19. The 11-song album shows the group's path, from struggling artists to earning a gold-selling, chart-topping hit with their debut single, "Greatest Love Story."

"We did keep the album kind of open-ended throughout the entire process because you always want the best songs on the album," lead singer Brandon Lancaster shared with PopCulture.com at a recent media event. "If a song comes along, even if it's a couple months before the album comes out, you want to make sure that it's a possibility. Because this is our first album, I think that we did want to make sure that it represented our journey. There are songs on it that were important for us to be on there, that were literally there when we first started, and some of the first shows we played. Then there are songs that really are just a couple months old on the record. And everything in between."

Lancaster wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs on Hallelujah Nights, including the title track, which Lancaster wrote with Jeremy Spillman and the project's producer, Jay Joyce.

"I think that the name of the album, your debut first album, your introduction to everybody is very important," says Lancaster. "That song just encompasses the themes of the album. For us, we just wanted this album to reflect who we are in our relationships, in our circumstances, and kind of the things we've gone through. But at the same time, still living in that moment, still looking around you and savoring all the moments that you're given. And knowing that these people you're around, these moments that you're given, one day it will just be memories, and they go by way too fast.

"We already can look back," he continues. "We already have a moment of nostalgia about certain times when there were four or five of us living in one house, or just certain things like that. And so, it's just a message that we really believe in. Whether it's relationships you're in or the people you're spending [time with] -- the things you're doing that night, to savor it and to hold onto it and celebrate it, because one day it will be a memory. That's kind of the statement in Hallelujah Nights. I think it's a consistent theme throughout the album."

Asked to pick his favorite of the 11 tracks, the newlywed says he has a special affinity for all of them, especially the way they weave together to tell a story.

"There are actually recurring themes and recurring characters throughout these songs," Lancaster reveals. "The pieces of the puzzle that fit another story. So if you have 'Greatest Love Story,' there's a song called 'Pick You Up.' The second verse of 'The Greatest Love Story' talks about them going away. Well, 'Pick You Up' is a song I love.... It's talking about, 'Hey I'm going this way. I'm thinking about you. I'm wondering if you're still feeling this way. If you are, I've still got this old car, we used to go down to the river in. I could come over and I can pick you up."

"There's actually a few songs on the record," adds Lancaster. "'Middle of the Night' and 'When You're Older' -- certain songs are visiting themes and borrowing from other songs. 'Pick You Up' is really cool to me. 'Born to Love You' is one of those that explores. It's setting the picture of the town in some of the songs we're talking about. Those are a few of my favorites."

Now that Hallelujah Nights is out, LANCO feel proud of the work they put into the record, and pleased with the end result.

"Because it's our first album, we had a lot of time to work on it," Lancaster says. "We did want there to be names and consistency and layers, you know. I love albums that you listen to it once, you hear something. You listen to it again and you start to find more pieces on the album. We wanted that to sound both weirdly and sonically. I feel like we accomplished it to the best of our ability right now."

LANCO, which also includes Chandler Baldwin, Jared Hampton, Tripp Howell and Eric Steedly, are on the road with Chris Young, serving as the opening act on Young's Losing Sleep World Tour. A list of all of their upcoming shows is available on their website.

Purchase Hallelujah Nights on Amazon and iTunes.

Photo Credit: The Green Room