Vinyl LP order direct from We Are Busy Bodies:
wearebusybodies.bandcamp.com/album/dany-laj-and-the-looks-ten-easy-pieces
"This is glorious, frankly." - Maximum Volume Music
"Dany Laj writes the kind of tunes full of yearning: for love, for commitment, for purpose, for getting the hell out of town. Fortunately he wraps this angst in the kind of tuneful confections that make fast friends on one spin." - Big Takeover Magazine
"Smile", which channels the Beatles via early Elvis Costello, is an infectious opener that sets the tone for the entire album. - Lord Rutledge
"Though power pop is at the core of the record, there are flourishes of psychedelic, garage rock, and straight-up pop wrapped over the dozen songs that make up the album. There is no reason to not love this record. Remarkably catchy without being insipid, Ten Easy Pieces is stripped of all pretentions and simply a fun way to spend the next 30 minutes of your life." - New Noise Magazine
"I'll say that Ten Easy Pieces is the best album yet from Dany Laj and The Looks. With Ten Easy Pieces, Dany Laj and The Looks have delivered a set of pop/rock and roll songs that absolutely delights from start to finish. Laj as a songwriter is as rock-solid and dependable as Carey Price between the pipes. He and Dowling have infused their music with their special chemistry, and that especially comes through on this release." - Faster And Louder
"Luve it….just knocked another poor band off for this…..Lou you kill me with good stuff….." - Genya Ravan
"Ten Easy Pieces proves to be a melting pot of classic influences all thrown into a set of three-minute pop anthems. It’s an album fit to brighten up any day with authentic 60’s beat generation melodies fused with country, folk and post-punk influences." - Louder Than War
"Don't Keep Me Guessin'" was a fine choice for lead single because every time I play it, I end up listening to it four or five times. One play always leaves me wanting more! - Lord Rutledge
"Combine all of the best ingredients of Power Pop into a 60's Blender in the Garage and press repeat." - "Boris" Boden (aka The Secret Weapon on Woody Radio)
""Don't Keep Me Guessin'" is an impossibly upbeat power pop song that leans heavily into the pop side while keeping both feet in the rock and folk worlds, with maybe a little punk edge tossed in." - If It's Too Loud
"Between a massive hook, some cool male/female harmonies and a video that appears to have a quirky Brady Bunch opening credits vibe, the new release is the full package!" - Real Gone
Ever since falling in love with rock 'n roll at 9 years old after listening to a Beatles cassette, Laj has been (for the most part) obsessed with the genre. Things got a little deeper when he discovered the Undertones & Teenage Head in a box of 45's that was to be discarded in a local radio station’s trash from a renovation in the early 90's. That led him to a whole new world consisting of punk rock and underground music. Years went on, with Laj searching continuously for different laneways of music found within the towns and cities he’s lived in. Being fascinated with and learning to live life through his record collection, some may say he's a dreamer - but he would not necessarily agree to that. "I'd only be dreaming if I was found to be sleeping through all this, but (maybe unfortunately?) it is a reality and a way of life for me." It sure has been. Laj and his band The Looks have played over 1000 shows all through North America. "It's crazy to think of it now but we've been all over the place on the continent, I haven't even been on a plane yet and apparently there's a whole different world out there," Laj smirks.
The past two years has seen Laj spending quite a bit of time with his 4 track recorder writing a big collection of songs, re-working old ones, and even trying his hand at covering songs by Canadian artists he loves. "I think I had about 38 songs that I presented to our manager Eric with all kinds of stylings, I remember finally saying ‘okay, that's the record’ and felt bad ‘cause I had bombarded his hard drive with like a million different mixes and so on. Sorry dude." In comes Ten Easy Pieces, his most focused effort yet. After demoing and having more than three records worth of material, Laj eventually got together with his lifelong mate/longtime bassist Jeanette Dowling and drummer Dusty Campbell and started recording the latest Looks effort. Recording bits and pieces in down time from touring, it finally came together. “In a way for us, it is a return to our roots in Canada, as we had done our last recordings in the United States; in Rockford IL and New York City,” muses Laj. After getting the foundation of the songs done (which took a bit of effort due to moving houses and having a different recording setup), the band invited some of their local friends in Sudbury to play on the record, including Paul Loewenberg who played some keys, Greg Mihajic on harmonica and keys, Dunstan Topp who plays drums on one track, and Zack Tymchuck who lends his hand on percussion for one track. "It's an interesting collection of songs for me, some of these songs I had written as early as 2003. Don't Keep Me Guessin' was written in 2011 after I had met Jeanette Dowling and we started hanging out. Who’s Pickin’ On You is a song by John Borra, who I spent countless hours watching play every Sunday at the Communist’s Daughter when I lived in Toronto. Some of them represent some of the feelings that I wasn't able to comfortably let out till recently," Laj continues. All in all this is a collection of 12 songs called Ten Easy Pieces. Why 12 songs then? "Why are you so concerned? We simply just gave you two bonus tracks ‘cause we love you."