Music

Watch Daniel Romano Smoke Cigarettes and Stare at a Camera in the Video for “Roya”

Photo by Sebastian Buzzalino

Daniel Romano is nothing if not prolific. The Welland, Ontario native will release the rollicking Modern Pressure on May 19 via You’ve Changed Records and New West Records, marking his seventh album in as many years. It’s sonically spiritual to 2016’s Mosey, and shows Romano continuing to sharpen his signature sound, combining elements of retro-tinged rock ‘n’ roll, country, and psychedelia to create a vibrant tapestry of tunes that feel just as at home in 2017 as they might in 1965.

Modern Pressure is a collection of spiritual songs,” Romano says in a statement.” The sound of the moment reverberating into the future. Like the music of the spheres, these melodies and verses are both pertinent and timeless. There is a desperate cry for revolt, There is a vulnerability in its stoicism. There is a rapturous callowness within the form. There is an ovation for the matriarchy in this virile world. These are collectively and peculiarly our modern pressure.

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The first single, “Roya,” is a dreamy, laid back head-nodder featuring shuffling shakers, jangly tambourine, and ever-present, slinking guitar lines. The video shows a smoking Romano and bandmate Kay Berkel surrounded by bright reds, vivid blues, and sparkling silver as Romano fixes an intense stare on the camera and Berkel sings the tune’s infectious melody.

“Roya is a celebration of women,” Romano says about the first single. “Roya is to represent the femininity in nature and the universal She. This is a devotional memoir pertaining to the strength, endurance, spirit, and godlike gravity of our mothers, sisters, lovers, and friends.”

Modern Pressure track listing:

1.     Ugly Human Heart Pt. I
2.     Modern Pressure
3.     Roya
4.     Pride of Queens
5.     When I Learned Your Name
6.     Sucking The Old World Dry
7.     Ugly Human Heart Pt. II
8.     Impossible Green
9.     Jennifer Castle   
10.  Dancing With The Lady In The Moonlight
11.  I Tried To Hold The World (In My Mouth)
12.  (What’s To Become) Of The Meaning Of Love

Matt Williams is a writer and photographer living in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter.