Dany Laj And The Looks deal up a pair, Delyn Grey is a daddy’s girl, Belinda Bruce plays the long game, Pink Mario is in love with Chad (but it’s not what you think), Nassim can’t get enough — but your Monday Roundup is just the right amount of music to wrap up your long weekend (or kick off a laid-back week):
1 | Dany Laj And The Looks | You & Me
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sudbury rockers and pre-eminent road warriors Dany Laj And The Looks have released their single and video for You & Me. It’s the second offering from their upcoming third album Ten Easy Pieces, set for release on June 11. The video was created by award-winning director Ryan Thompson. As sidekicks Laj and Jeanette Dowling sip cocktails and battle sea serpents on a tropical island, the viewer is taken on a spectacular maritime journey. The track features the unmistakable vocal harmonies of Dowling as the song runs through a variety of classic influences that seamlessly cross genres. Laj says: “You & Me is a sixties-esque pop love blender with seven lines of lyrics, containing seventeen words slapped together with drums, bass, guitar, vocals, keys and tremolo. It’s a vacation on your favourite pure-pop island.”
2 | Delyn Grey | Daddy’s Love
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto’s Delyn Grey continues her bold exploration of the darkness on riveting new single Daddy’s Love, a guitar-heavy rocker that introduces a shot of menace into her powerful signature sound. She says: “I want people to feel empowered to deflect other people’s defeatist projections with this one. I love this song, man. It’s gotten me through some serious mind-screws. It’s a relief. Don’t ever let anyone dictate what your relationship with your passion, loved ones, and yourself look like. It’s not up to them and you must be pretty cool if people are trying to keep you from reaching your full potential, ha! Be fearless, be unapologetic, and maybe take the high road instead of calling out their daddy issues … ? Keep doing you. I hope you find something for you in this track.”
3 | Belinda Bruce | Long Country
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Vancouver indie pop singer-songwriter Belinda Bruce recently dropped her single Long Country, and the new video brings audiences deeper into her twinkling nighttime terrain. “It’s a testament to my night-owl nature and the bliss of forgetting about the daytime world, of getting deeply, blissfully lost — in dreams, in music, in passion, in the long country of the night,” says Belinda. The video for catchy, pulsing cut was shot by Tyler McLeod on a warm full-moon night during the pandemic. “We couldn’t go much further than our backyard,” says Belinda, “but that was kind of perfect to capture the sense of a world turned inside out, waking up in the middle of the night in a bed frame on the grass.” Directed and edited by Belinda, the video also features multi-talented musician and producer Jon Wood surrounding her on drums, guitar and bass.”
4 | Pink Mario | Chad
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Berlin artist Pink Mario has released his latest dream-pop single Chad. The track was produced by Pink Mario alongside co-producer Robin Brink. Chad evokes a feeling of longing through its spacious production, reverbed vocals, and arpeggiated synth that ebbs and flows throughout the track, backed by a colourful music video that allows the viewer to see a world of wonder through Pink Mario’s eyes. Pink Mario says: “Chad is an irrational love song for a country that I’ve never visited. I hope it captures the romance and excitement of searching for the distant and unknown, no matter how futile that endeavor may seem. Though the country Chad may be in the middle of the Sahara desert, for me it’s more of an idea than an actual place.”
5 | Nassím | Nymphomaniac
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Inspired by the elegance of Marvin Gaye, the voice of Chet Baker and the groove of The Neptunes, Nassím puts his voice on a sunny production to discuss his adventures in love and dolce vita. His single Nymphomaniac — a song somewhere between funk and R&B — will appear on his EP Habibi Hotline, which will be released on June 11.”
6 | Gaume | The Best Of Your Worst
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Here, finally, is the new chlorinated clip of the last track from my album Call It What You Want. I warmly thank my friend Laurent Franzi for his time, his patience, and his temerity to complete this clip with me. A big thank you to the City of Nantes for giving us the time for a morning to do what we wanted at the Leo Lagrange swimming pool.”
7 | Chris Connelly And Monica Queen | My Father Took Me Everywhere
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Two Scottish alternative music legends — Chris Connelly and the incomparable Monica Queen — present My Father Took Me Everywhere, the new single from their collaborative album The Birthday Poems, to be released on June 15. This album is a fictionalized account of the romance between celebrated Scottish poet and author George Mackay Brown and his muse Stella Cartwright, as well as Stelle’s friendship with Edinburgh poet Stanley Roger Green, spanning three decades from the mid 1950s until Stella’s tragic and untimely death in 1985. The video stars Queen as Stella. Inspired by the 1964 short film Palindrome by Margaret Tait, which features some of the only known footage of Stella Cartwright, the video was created by Iain W. Mutch / Walkerandwilliam.”
8 | Smashed Gladys | Go To Hell
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Smashed Gladys have just dropped their new single Go To Hell, the followup to their first release Bump In The Night. Born from the embers of the vibrant Toronto punk scene, Smashed Gladys formed in 1984 and then headed to New York City. The band was headed by vocalist Sally Cato and were became part of the legendary glam / hair metal scene. Cato sadly passed away in 2020, but the band bring you this new material in her honour. Smashed Gladys recorded these songs as demos for their third album. Go To Hell and Bump In The Night both give fans an insight into this superb unreleased material. “If you don’t know how to save your soul, you better learn to rock ’n’ roll,” preaches Cato in this high-energy boogie about making it in the Big Apple. Every artist has a love/hate relationship with New York City, and you can feel the fun as Smashed Gladys paint a musical picture of the dark side of Gotham with a stroke of humour.”
9 | Mud Factory | All Shall Be Erased
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “All Shall Be Erased is the third single taken from groove/death metallers Mud Factory’s album The Sins of Our Fathers, out July 16. The video was directed, edited and filmed by Marko Jocić Pupak. The track was recorded in Heretik studio, Niš, Serbia.”
10 | Drawn & Quartered | Carnage Atrocity
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Long-serving Seattle death metal troop Drawn & Quartered drop Carnage Atrocity, the second single from the impending eighth LP Congregation Pestilence, due for release on July 2. Remarks Herb Burke, the band’s vocalist and bassist: “With jagged slashing and frenzied disembowelment, Carnage Atrocity is a neck-snapping orgy of violence that will sear itself upon the mind; a traditional tale of graphic gore from the birth of serial killing, its end vanishing into the mists of the unknown.”
11 | Dan & The Gummy Hunters | Empty Hands
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Brazilian punk band Dan & The Gummy Hunters just released the video for Empty Hands, a song from their last album Memory Lane. The song talks about falling in love at a young age and having to deal with disappointments and losses, and how difficult it becomes when everything seems to go wrong. Memory Lane has ten tracks: Nine in English and one in Portuguese. They cover the last 10 years of Dan’s life, from his daily existence to his relationships with family and friends. Very influenced by the California punk of the ’90s, the album is a full plate for those who like the style and bands like Descendents, No Use For A Name, All, Millencolin and Social Distortion.”
12 | Claudio Bagnato | No Way Out
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Six months after the official release of debut solo album Nowhere, Claudio Bagnato is still promoting the effort with the video for No Way Out. He says: “The songs are about me, about love, about feeling of unease and destruction. It’s like a stripping of my personality. I’ve never really asked myself if I wanted to sing in French or English. The album contains 12 songs in English and one in French. Why in English? Because it’s the music I listen to. I used my road english, the one I used to speak, the one I understand.”
13 | Danielle Lewis | My Youth
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Danielle Lewis returns with the starkly beautiful new single My Youth. The song is simplicity at its finest. With its illusory, languid melodies, the single finds good company with the affecting, ambient/folk-pop works of Julia Holter or Weyes Blood. My Youth finds Danielle reflecting on coming-of-age and the myriad of emotions that come hand-in-hand with growing up. As Danielle voices: “My Youth was written from a sense of feeling adrift and floating through life, particularly in my younger years.’ The lyrics touch upon accepting a part of my youth and allowing the waves of emotion to flow through without judgement.”
14 | Valencia | So Sober
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “L.A. electro-pop duo Valencia (Jadeyn Madsen and Lou Courts) are back with So Sober. Renowned for their emotional candour and vivid storytelling, the California pair have established themselves on an international level. They said: “This song is for anyone who’s ever been going through it. So Sober is about working through the hardship; coming back from the low points in life (losing a job, or a terrible breakup) and when you’re trying to drown it all out, you find someone or something that makes you want to keep going.”
15 | Riley Michaels | Someone Like You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Niagara’s Riley Michaels started making music at eight years old after winning a local singing competition. Today, the music Michaels makes is a combination of pop and adult contemporary, with a range of influences. Riley’s music evokes the vibe of driving down the highway with the roof of your car open, a day at the beach, or even a dance club. Other songs offer intimate feelings that audiences will connect with on a deeper level. Following a string of singles through 2020 and 2021, Riley has released his new self-titled EP, inspired by themes of love, heartbreak, lust, and appreciation fused together with vintage, earthy musical tones. The EP’s intimate, comforting focus track Someone Like You is about that special someone and your adoration for them.”
16 | Big City Lights | Nothing Makes Sense Without You
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Music has a way of bringing people together along with a few well-placed social media posts, and that’s exactly what happened when four relative strangers from Oshawa started the journey that would come to be known as Big City Lights. They play country music with a twist of soulful pop, rock, and R&B, pushing the limits and bringing a new sound to the ever-growing genre. Big City Lights’ new single Nothing Makes Sense Without You grew from that feeling you get in your stomach when you know you’re falling for someone and highlights the band’s vocals and harmonies.”
17 | Tim Motzer | Many Ways Around The Sun
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Well known for his distinct textural electro-acoustic guitar voice utilizing looping, bowing, electronics, and prepared techniques, Tim Motzer has been busy in the studio breaking some new ground. His new album Many Ways Around The Sun will be released on July 30. Here’s the title track and first single. Motzer says: “The song Many Ways Around the Sun literally popped out of nowhere. I set up my reed organ in the studio and played a few chords, and before I even had a chance to set up a mic this song was coming out. I grabbed mics and recorded it. I couldn’t move fast enough to get all the parts recorded. It all came flying through, words and all. It’s like a mantra … reminding me it’s OK to follow your heart down your own path. The song now feels like an anthem that I can call upon when I need inspiration on the journey.”
18 | Human Failure | Urchin
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Newcastle Australian punks Human Failure have released their new single Urchin in anticipation of their upcoming EP of the same name. Urchin is dedicated to their good friend who passed away. Donny was a mate that went way too early. He was an outgoing guy who always had time for his friends, no matter how long it had been since they last spoke. But this isn’t a ballady tribute to Donny — this is hard and fast punk! The Urchin EP will be released on Friday.”
19 | Nially | Seeing Something Different
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nially is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter and musician from Kerry, Ireland. Growing up in a very musical family, he has been involved in music from an early age. In June 2020, he released a demo of one of his original songs and received an outstanding reaction, which persuaded him to record more.”
