Dany Laj and the Looks:
Songwriter Laj, (Lajeunesse) bred in Kirkland Lake, a rural mining gold camp in northern Ontario. Dany is no stranger to a small town kid growing up in a gold recession. Having toured the country and playing any stage he can find, Dany is now in the position to work out his own musical vision, and so far the results have been very exciting.
His new 6 song ep “The Match” is now available on very limited vinyl, part of a new series of eps on colored vinyl released by Toronto’s Boppa Do Down Records, the label division of Frantic City Records.
Dany’s music comes bursting out of woods with the Hooks and harmonies of Power Pops 1970's heyday.This ain't no skinny jean New Wave revival band This is pure Pop. Just Pop.
Dany Laj and the Looks features: Jeanette Dowling on bass, and Lewis Handford on drums.
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Dany Laj and The Looks - Telepathic Voices (Boppa Do Down) 2013
Toronto's Boppa Do Down Records power pop outfit Dany Laj and The Looks are touring Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes. After learning of the sudden closure of reputed and ofttimes notorious Toronto record store Hits & Misses, Laj & co were forced to find other accommodations - they lived upstairs! With nothing to lose and a full tank of gas, Dany Laj and The Looks decided to take residency in Montreal for two months. While keeping their heavy touring schedule, they held on to what blossomed into a critically acclaimed matinée every Sunday at Montréal's favourite watering hole, Barfly. While having a mere three days a week of actually being in their temporary residence, Laj had the thought of recording an EP. "Jeanette and I went to see a conversation piece with Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) and Howard Bilerman (Hotel2tango Studio) as part of the Pop Montréal Symposium; on the way home I had an epiphany to try to record an EP while we're here....one thing led to another, and I decided to release that as a document that encapsulates the spirit and energy of our tour instead of what was supposed to be a full-length record". With help from engineers Dominic Lafontaine and 2012 Juno nominee Ben Leggett, the four-song EP that has come to be known as "Telepathic Voices" was born.
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Someone once said that any band is only as good as their record collection. Even if that maxim was only half-true (and it is), then Dany Laj is probably one of the best cats you haven’t heard yet (and he is).
He sounds like Paul McCartney and Patti Smith’s bastard love child that grew up listening to too much Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and the Replacements.
Springsteen sang once about being ‘a rich man singing in a poor man’s shirt’. Growing up in northern Ontario, in a French-Canadian hockey playing family, Laj is the furthest thing from a poseur you’ll ever meet. He’s real, and so is his music, and he works, playing over a hundred shows a year and putting the hard miles on cracked Canadian highways, north, south, east and west.
So when you see Dany Laj & Looks on a marquee in your neck of the woods, do yourself a favour and check it out. You’ll thank me.
-Nathan Hunter, July 2012
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WILLFULLY OBSCURE (http://wilfullyobscure.blogspot.com/2011/09/dany-laj-match-ep-2011-boppa-do-down.html)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
Dany Laj - The Match ep (2011, Boppa Do Down)
A little birdy passed this one along to me and what a pleasant “tweet” it turned out to be. Dany Laj (abbreviated for Lajeunesse) is a chap from a small Ontario town who set off to Toronto to create the great American pop album. Well, come to think of it, The Match isn’t actually an American proposition at all, since he’s still a Canadian resident, and furthermore this six-song release technically qualifies as an ep, so forget all that “album” nonsense. What was I thinking? So yeah, we have the great Canadian ep called The Match, which showcases a budding troubadour who has “raw talent” written all over him. Laj possesses the same visceral moxie that forebearers Ted Leo, Elvis Costello, and Joel Plaskett made their respective calling cards, and just like that trifecta he makes it sound so damn effortless. Beyond quality material if you ask me, but listen for yourself. The Match apparently hasn’t hit stores yet, and in fact, a record release party is slated for November 27 at The Piston on Bloor St. in Toronto. Was so impressed with I heard I thought I’d share the ep in it’s entirety (at least for a little while). Per Laj’s corner of Facebook, he recently toured under Dany Laj and The Looks, though I’m not certain if The Looks are backing him up on these half dozen tracks.
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ABCOLUTE POWERPOP
(http://absolutepowerpop.blogspot.ca/2011/12/2011-clearout.html)
Dany Laj & The Looks-The Match EP.
Staying north of the border, Laj & Co. hail from Ontario and have released an impressive EP that brings to mind Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and The Plimsouls. The title track is classic roots-based pub rock, and despite its silly title "Alien Ate Some People" is another enjoyable track in the same vein.
Instrumentation
Dany Laj - Guitar, keys, VOX
Jeanette Dowling - Bass, VOX
Vassil Mester - Drums
Discography
Dany Laj - The Match - 2011 (Boppa Do Down)
http://danylaj.bandcamp.com/album/the-match