It's only past 4 p.m. on the first of LANY's five-night stand at the Mall of Asia Arena (its last two shows are on 15 and 16 November), but a small crowd had already gathered outside the venue — unmindful that the band won't be onstage until four hours later.

Daily Tribune had 10 minutes to talk to the American band, formed in Nashville in 2017 and now based in Los Angeles (LANY means Los Angeles-New York). Originally a trio (Les Priest left in April), the group's two members, Paul Jason Klein and Jake Clifford Goss, fielded questions with candor. Klein did most of the talking.

Daily Tribune (DT): Does this happen in other places, selling out four nights?

Paul Jason Klein (PJK): No. But it's starting to pick up in other places, obviously not in this arena scale, but selling out two nights in Mexico City, two nights in Bangkok… The shows in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore are all sold out — those are also big arenas. It is nice to see the growth. You work really hard and it's great to see that more people are really connecting to our music.

DT: Do you think the group's popularity is due to the ballads, like, people are naturally sentimental?

PJK: We do love that word "sentimental." I think the Japanese coined our music "sentimental rock 'n' roll." I thought that was a beautiful description, 'cause oftentimes we are asked what genre our music is, and we have no idea. But I also think… we're not really sure. If we knew why… I don't know. I think, ultimately, we make music that connects with people on an emotional level, especially now, when people are desperate to find authenticity and genuine art. We grew up listening to people who made us feel a little bit less alone in the world, and that's what we want to do with our music.