August 13th, 2024
While scrolling through TikTok one day, I stumbled across a bedroom musician who was promoting his new single.
I was immediately hooked after hearing one verse and I was excited for this sample to be released on Spotify. Since this discovery, LCN! has been a great addition to my rotation, and I get stoked when I hear word of a new release. LCN!’s songs on the surface seem like indie pop records that fade into the overarching chasm of pop releases that follow the TikTok formula, but after listening to a few songs, I felt that LCN!’s style is multilayering, falling deeper and deeper with meaning after each listen. After dancing by myself to HEARTBREAK VALENTINE at 3am and balling my eyes out to YOUR FEATHERS, it dawned on me that for this blog, I could use writing as an excuse to listen to LCN!’s discography, and not only write the artist’s praises, but illustrate how these underlying meanings connect to me as a listener and fan.
Left: LCN!, Spotify Banner // Right: Artist cover- Spotify
LCN! (elasian) is a Seattle based artist who has grown a following on TikTok, and has 48,476 monthly listeners on Spotify. Prior to posting exclusively on Spotify and Apple Music, the artist released his music on SoundCloud, where the singles HEARTBREAK VALENTINE and PLEASE WAIT FOR ME were first released. PLEASE WAIT FOR ME on SoundCloud alone has 53.8k streams, and the artist has only grew bigger and bigger, performing live shows and for the Museum of Pop Culture, and signed with 88rising. When I first starting listening to this discography, I was engaged throughout my listening, finding deeper meanings connect to me in ways that I hope his music connects with others.
@elasian- Instagram // PLEASE WAIT FOR ME song cover- Spotify
This first song was cute, and a great start to the catalog, but differed from the upcoming tracks that would define *LCN!’*s style. The single had decent themes of floating in your youth, struggling to fit, and conveyed that message well melodically. On the surface, a nice indie pop jam. But like the rest of LCN’s library, the song had a relatable undertone that resonated with me. The feeling of feeling adrift as you shift into an important chapter of your life.
In all stages of life, especially the big ones like entering your 40s or like in this case becoming a young adult can be a major turning stone, where the version of you that you once were becomes anew. But what makes this song so interesting and deep to me is how this shift is expressed, highlighting an important fact about shifting into this milestone; our lives up until that point are heavily shaped by the support systems and world around us. Whether it’s our parents, the media we consume, the people we look up to, outside forces influenced our paradigms. The experiences we have, the choices we make all leave an impact onto the people we become. But when you shift into adulthood, it feels like once you are left into your own mental devices, you have to become your own person. You take up financial responsibility, go to school, travel, whatever your twenties bring. And this new life stage, ending seventeen, becoming eighteen, can leave you stranded. Factors can contribute to this, for examples relationships, friendships, family conflicts, and other outside forces can leave one lost in identity. The pressure to fit the pieces together, to become a new person as the ridges on the pieces change. The question remains of what we do with these pieces, do we allow for them to change, or do we forcibly fit the ridges into spots that don’t align.
The song captures this complex transition in a grounded way, relatable to any young person in the twentieth century, and is the start of the distinct style of LCN!, carefully crafted into every upcoming single in the discography.
This song is one of my favorites in the catalog. A perfect dance in your room alone at 3 am for a quick serotonin jam that suits perfectly. If I had a nickel for every time this song got stuck in my head, I would have more than two nickels. I would own in a little pink piggy bank all the nickels. This song has everything: the vocal layering, a killer bridge, catchy lyrics that will become tattooed into your brain, a great beat, and again, a great expression of a relatable concept. I felt connected to the feeling of a failed attempt at love, and just the “welp, that happened” feeling. It is a staple on my playlists, and I love playing the song in the car all the time, and if you are craving the perfect indie pop dance jam, this one is it, perfectly encapsulating the style of elasian and the craftsmanship that goes into the songs
reflect the artist in a connected way. The song is more than just this bedroom pop song, it speaks to the audience of hopeless romantics waiting for our happily ever after in such a fun way.
If I could Sparknotes this song into one word it would concrete: Iconic. The vocal layering game in this song is chef’s kiss. Not only in this such a vibe, the messaging is also iconic.
Another staple in the catalog, PLEASE WAIT FOR ME! takes the fear of asking your crush out and puts it in a song you can blast in the AirPods while you walk past them because you have too much anxiety confessing so you just don’t.
Even though in your head you know you are a good fit, and would be better for them long term, you have doubt itching your brain, and you overthink it, so you vibe your delusions away.
dreamt of you song cover - Spotify // HEARTBREAK VALENTINE song cover- Spotify
The intro is this blend of sweet harmony and solid baseline. The messaging in this song is so important to me. The drive for authenticity in the age of duplicity for personal benefit is so inspiring. The layers of messaging on toxic masculinity. The freedom in personal acceptance is such an vital message to young people. It can be hard to accept the blur in the mirror, but just making the effort is such a great step.
This song is just simply iconic and gets me in all the positive feels. Absolutely love.
If you want a car jam to blast in the car while driving in the summer sun, as the wind flows through your hair in the breeze, this is it. This song felt like a summer indie movie, the way the guitar, steady beat, harmonies all complement each other and create the indie song of the summer, or any season of the year.
Some songs are magnum opuses, with these deep meanings and messages that transcend time.
But not all songs need that.Not every song needs to be this emotionally gripping emotional experience. Sometimes you just want a vibe. Sometimes you scroll Spotify, find a playlist that you can put in the background as you make memories that will become ingrained in the retrospective, and ride the wave of good vibes.
This song is the perfect summer hit. If this song reminded me of any movie, it would be Pixar’s Luca, a sweet summer vibe.
This song is the anthem for all hopeless romantics.
Hold me closer and pull me closer, when I’m with you I’m not a loser-
The single is a lover’s heaven. The bliss of young love melodically wrapped up in a cute little bow. Another perfect wind down romance that will foster those butterflies.
The themes of the hopeless romantic continue with this love-at-first-sight dreamscape. This song is that feeling with a beat and LCN signature background layering that provides the perfect balance of style and indie comfort. This song is that feeling with a beat and LCN signature background layering that provides the perfect balance of style and indie comfort.
Elasian- Instagram
The song ignites the flame of budding love, and the longing desire for it to be more than just a dream, more than just a glance, more than the waning thoughts of “Could it be?” Another reason why LCN! should be the artist you gate-keep while you can.
The song is a great tune, perfect to bob your head to, and such an underrated beat in the catalog. But nonetheless another point for LCN!
So far, we have explored summer bedroom indie pop vibes that have only manifested positive vibes and pleasant feelings. Take that, and throw it all away and get ready to grab your issues for this sad ballad that is the tragic tale of lost love that failed too soon, and a love that won’t let you move on. The remains of that relationship linger as it fades, leaving scars that take too long to heal. This song brought a past love of mine to the forefront, reminding me of how it ended, but also allowing me to remember to lessoned I learned, how from my mistakes I grew into the person I am today. How the remains of the feathers help me fly. This one provides a different freedom, a cathartic release of buried sadness.
Shifting back to the lighter tunes, SOUR BOY has such unique vibe that contrasts the others, yet stays true to the catalog in a wonderful way. The distinct beat makes for a great head jam, one of the best head bobs of the discography. The song is so different that it signifies the artist’s range in a neat way, making LCN! much more than how he is usually described as a bedroom pop indie icon. This song is perfect on aux, and will make you look cool in front of your friends without question. Incredibly catchy, on brand, but also has an interesting message too. The lyrics point to a realignment in relationships, contrasting the sweetness of the others, and subverting expectations with Sour, with the standout lyrics.
stop calling me sweet, I know sometimes, I can be a bit sour
The tracks feels like when I listen to it how I feel every time I get friend zoned, and I’m just supposed to be fine with that, and expected to be okay. Sometimes it just doesn’t, and that’s okay. The song takes how I feel and puts it into words man.
This one hits also for me. It has all the hallmarks of the previous songs, great hook, amazing intro, perfect beat to ride and vibe, but what makes this one stand out and hit is the identity themes. That longing to be anybody or somebody when you feel like a nobody is so relevant to me. I always felt like a nobody, an amagalamation of the derivative. With nothing to stay or artistically contribute what do I have to say? As I got older I realized that it is a gift to be able to express yourself at all. That the present is such an interesting time for the past voices reflected their present, for them it wasn’t the past. And if you keep listening into the echoes of the past you will miss the sounds of the now. It can be hard to remain grounded to the present, but I make an effort. Another great track by a great indie artist.
The newest release and final track on the set list, this chill vibe is a testement to falling out of love, but more than that. It represent the regret of letting go, of letting the relationship get to that point. Of missing what you had, and having to live with that fact retrospectively. The track is emblematic of the artist’s style, expression, and contributes to the consistent quality of the tracks. A great late night jam, and a perfect end to a chill vibe playlist.
LCN! as an upcoming artist is worth the streams, and all the rising popularity. I am beyond happy that I stumbled upon with amazing artist, and this was a perfect excuse to stream his discography and write my first review for The Vinyl Collection blog*.*
If you want to stream LCN! You can find him on Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Music, or on his socials linked below:
Here is the link to the artist: