We Are Busy Bodies Records- 11 June 2021
Finely crafted power pop on Dany Laj And The Looks latest release.
Ten Easy Pieces is the latest release from Toronto based outfit Danny Laj and the Looks. It is a record that veers between the breezy optimism of cheerful, slightly psych influenced garage pop and a darker more reflective, soft rock sound. The band have a real knack for a catchy hook and there is a vitality to the interplay between Laj and Jeanette Dowling, who form the nucleus of the group and share vocal duties.
The album opens with “Smile”, a song which sonically encapsulates a sunny 60s pop atmosphere in the form of a bright ascending chord sequence and accompanying sha la la las. This poppy impetus is further explored on the subsequent track “You and Me” which has a propellant energy and finds Laj in fine vocal fettle, channeling a young Ray Davies. “Pick it up” opens with an excellent driving bassline which is high in the mix and the track has the feel of a Tom Petty number, which is no bad thing.
Laj writes in a straightforward, matter of fact style. Perhaps this is a power-pop embodiment of the clipped but precisionist observation of Raymond Carver, perhaps he just likes to describe his day. Either way the disarming initial simplicity of the songs conceals eddies of conflicting sentiment. The mechanism of composition is apparent on “I play Guitar”, a song that bumps along at a midtempo pace, with a Stonesesque backbeat and a wry self-deprecatory tone. Laj sings ‘you're upstairs playing your video games, I've been trying to turn this thing into another song;' before the Dowling sung chorus semi-ironically laments that Laj is ‘an old guy playing guitar.'
Similarly “Till Jockey's Lament” is a neat exposition of the frustration familiar to anyone who has had the pleasure of dealing with demanding customers. A slightly faster number, the frustration is palpable in the vocal delivery. There is also a little more edge to the sound, which veers into a slightly spikier territory.
Ten Easy Pieces, which actually has twelve tracks, is a strong album with some well crafted songs. For me, the band are at their best on the faster numbers, where their ear for sunny pop-rock arrangements shines through. These are songs which feel as though they are heralding more auspicious summery times. This is true in spite of the fact that at times they are tackling issues of inertia, vexation and unrequited love. To explore such themes with musical backing as hook-laden as the stronger songs on this album is no mean feat.