While it’s been five years since the Toronto-based surrealist post-punk outfit Hooded Fang has released any new music, 2020 saw the debut of vocalist Dan Lee’s solo career under the moniker Lee Paradise, with his first album The Fink dropping at the tail end of that year. Nearly two years later, he’s returned with news of a follow-up collection of songs titled Lee Paradise & Co. which, as the name suggests, features collaborations with several of his peers within and adjacent to the Toronto music scene—and specifically to the roster of his label Telephone Explosion.
As if the impressively broad scope of influences he pulls from wasn’t enough, the new release sees the input of nine equally singular artists grafted onto Paradise’s already-unique sound, with the record’s first single “Cement” featuring vocals from labelmate Scott Hardware over the familiar synth warbles and sinister bass of Paradise’s self-described cyborg-funk.
Lyrically, Hardware shares that the track is “a sort of short story about an imperfect friendship” and all the tough but necessary conversations that can arise in platonic adult relationships. “Cement as a substance is rough,” he explains. “It’ll scrape you if you fall on it, but at the same time, it’s solid and permanent. That’s what the harder side of friendships can feel like at times—bitter, jealous, unkind—but solid nonetheless in a world that changes around us and our own inner worlds changing.”
The track arrives with an abstract visual emphasizing the track’s vaguely nostalgic feel and neon highlights. Check it out below, and pre-order Lee Paradise & Co. here.
