Saturday, June 06, 2026

Dany Laj and The Looks - We're The Freaks


I'm always stoked for new music from Dany Laj and The Looks — especially when it turns up without advance notice and totally makes my day. "We're The Freaks" is the first single from the band's new album If Looks Could Kill, which is due out in September. There aren't any bad Dany Laj and The Looks songs, but "We're The Freaks" is a particularly inspired number. This one is right there in that Dany Laj power pop rock 'n' roll wheelhouse, and I have to say that it's one of the best songs he has ever written. Joined here by Jeanette Dowling and David Laplante, he's in vintage form. I love the guitar tone on this number! The song is about the importance of artists and independent spaces in revitalizing urban communities. They build something beautiful and exciting, and then in come stuffy new neighbors complaining about "the freaks making all the noise." And just like that, all that creativity and culture is at risk of disappearing. 

Leave it to Dany Laj to write a song this angry and still have it sound like a good time. But perhaps that is the whole point. He doesn't want to go to war with anyone. He just wants to spread joy and make friends. "Why you gotta be angry?" sings Laj. "Come join the party; it will set you free." More than anything else, this song is celebration of the musicians and artists who transform and positively impact cities everywhere. It has something important to say, and it sounds great cranked loud. The song clocks in at two-and-a-half minutes and leaves me wanting more. But that's okay since more is soon forthcoming! Habs and the Flyers in the conference finals next year? Let's bet on it! 

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