Inside Funeral For a Fish: Lake Rana’s Most Personal Project Yet

Photo: Rachel Briggs

What comes to mind when you hear the title Funeral For a Fish? We bet you wouldn’t have thought it would be a killer emo album.

Let us introduce you to Lake Rana, an emo/pop-punk band based in LA. They’re here to bring back what has been missing in the scene and are “on a mission to bring earworm riffs and poetic lyricism back into the genre.”  We got to chat with frontman Josh Rana about the project, and he didn’t disappoint. 

Lake Rana consists of Josh, drummer (and full-time producer) Andrew DeFerrari, who assisted on the album's production, rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Jackson Langford, who has a project called Loveshark and can be distinctly heard on the Lake Rana song ‘Covers’, and bassist Mikey of Mike the Destroyer (who just released two singles with the help of his bandmates). 

The name Lake Rana is unique, and you can credit Josh’s parents for it. “Lake is actually my middle name, and in my parents' own words: 'We gave you, and your brother cool middle names in case you ever wanted to do something cool.’ My brother's is Stone, so look out for Stone Rana on the charts one day too.” 

The project is Josh’s main personal creative outlet; framing it as a band instead of a solo project was intentional for him. “Whether a solo act or a group, you need a band to bring this kind of music to life on a stage, and I happen to be very close with mine -- 3 of us live together. Since we all have our own music projects, we naturally end up being part of each other's bands.” The closeness can be heard in how well the album is put together from start to finish. “I think including their input and playing on the songs gives it an extra dimension of authenticity and camaraderie that so many of the bands of yesteryear that we love had.” 

Though this project is Josh’s main outlet now, Lake Rana paused for a moment before starting fresh in early 2025. In 2024, Josh experienced what all of us do– a quarter-life crisis and, as he describes it, the “mundanity of adulthood” creeping in. “For a few months, I had crippling death anxiety. I could barely sleep. The only thing that really broke me out of it was diving headfirst into my music; I stopped treating it like a hobby and put my entire self into it.” Josh goes on to say something that really hits home. “That's what Funeral For A Fish is really about. Accepting your mortality and throwing yourself into life. We all end up as insignificant as someone's pet goldfish. Why not do what you feel you were born to do?”

Before the band restarted, he released songs on and off, but nothing was sticking, and it didn’t feel right.  “When you are at that lowest level, it's really discouraging, and you look for every excuse for the lack of traction. In early 2025, I met with an artist whom I admire to discuss their project and hopefully uncover the ultimate industry secrets that I thought were being kept from me. I realized the difference between their project and mine was that they used every part—the music, the visuals, the promotion, the live show—as a creative outlet. I was releasing songs without any creative glue to hold them together. That's when I decided to record a proper album with a thematic concept -- a funeral for a fish.”

The album concept started from a hobby of Josh’s – aquariums. We know what you’re thinking: how does someone take their love for aquariums and turn it into an album? It’s actually a very clever concept. “My dad set up a fish tank for my brother and I when we were little. I didn't have any again until someone in my house in college got a huge fish tank and stopped caring for them after a few weeks. Feeling bad for the fish, I cleaned the tank and started taking care of them. That winter break, I got COVID and spent 2 weeks locked in my room watching fishkeeping videos. I ended up taking those fish to a nice aquarium store to live out their lives and bought myself my own tank when I moved. Throughout all this, many fish met their end, and my friends joke about all the fish that I've had to flush. When I decided I wanted to put more of myself into my project, the fish funeral concept was the first image that came to me.”

Funeral For a Fish represents an extremely chaotic period in Josh’s life; writing the album was a mix of storytelling and unintentional therapy for him. The album ended up being one of the most emotionally unguarded pieces of work yet for Josh. “I never sit down to write with a meaning or theme in mind. I usually write the music and melody first, and some words naturally work their way in because they sound fitting to the music. It's only about halfway through writing that the song's backstory really reveals itself, and the lyrics become more pointed and specific as you work through them. That being said, this was the first time the songs ended up this personal, and I sure had a lot to pull from.” 

A standout track for us on the album is called ‘Sink’, the song brings you to the lowest of the lows with lines like "Sink into my bedroom floor, ripping wounds while healing scars, I can't escape this aching mess of me." The track hits on themes related to internal conflict; no matter how hard you try, you can’t run from yourself or your thoughts. No matter where you go or what you do, that voice inside your head follows. It's hard to get out of that space and the sadness that comes along with it. The track stems from Josh being stuck in a bed for half a year after breaking his ankle; the isolation hit hard. “In that situation, your mind has a lot of time to mull over past mistakes. You feel like a victim and an asshole at the same time: Is this karmic justice for my past wrongs? In reality, I just hit an unlucky bump on my skateboard, but this song is about being stuck with your thoughts.” Fast forwarding to now, the frontman looks at the situation with a more positive outlook, mentioning how he wouldn’t have released this album if he hadn’t broken his ankle. “I became much more appreciative of life in general, and choose things that make me happy over the grind that a lot of people seek. Every negative event you experience ultimately becomes a memory that helps you appreciate your current situation.”

Another lyric that hits hard is the most personal Josh has written to date is one that closes out the album: 

"My body begs to stay,

Against the wind, the undercurrent,

That threatens to dismay.

We all end up the same,

No fated god, no epilogue,

While pain and joy decay.

Let's call it what it is,

A funeral for a fish."

The lines from Funeral For a Fish reflect the instinct to survive through the struggles and obstacles that pull us down. What life throws at us. At the same time, it acknowledges the truth: no matter who we are, what we are, we all arrive at the same place. Whether human or fish, life is fragile, and ultimately, the end is the same reality for all things living.

If you’re just hearing about Lake Rana, Josh recommends listening to ‘Sink’, ‘Covers’, and ‘Funeral For A Fish’ as standout tracks on the album due to their diversity. “They showcase the different ways we can write a hook really well. Not every song has to rely on its chorus to be catchy. I love writing instrumental hooks and structural hooks too.”

What's next? Lake Rana already has new music written for their second album. “It's darker, weirder, and more complex. I think it's a natural progression from Funeral For A Fish. Lake Rana is just getting started.”

TOP8’s Take?

The concept of this album is one of the coolest we’ve heard in a very long time and serves as a reminder to not take life for granted. It’s a breath of fresh air to have a band think outside of the box creatively, so we can’t wait to find out just exactly what this weird and dark progression means for Lake Rana’s future era, especially after this album. Funeral For A Fish is already a standout release in the scene this year; it's full of energy with an explosive pop punk sound from front to back. We highly recommend that any fans of the genre check the album out. We’re amped up knowing that there’s a new record in the works, and more than excited to keep up with the band on their journey. Go stream it.