By Kerry Doole
Dave Monks- Love (Independent): Dave Monks is best known as the frontman of Tokyo Police Club, one of Canada's most popular indie rock bands over the past decade.
Of late, he has taken a detour from TPC, first as a member of 'supergroup' Anyway Gang and now by releasing solo material amidst the lockdown. He released a solo effort, On A Wave, in 2019, and, starting with a couple of short videos on TikTok, Monks has grown a large online community. Love is a brand new solo cut, accompanied by an animated video and released to coincide with Monks' new Patreon page.
In a press release, he describes the making of the song: “With so many plans cancelled from quarantine, I wasn't quite sure how to move forward in connecting with people over my music but I feel like I have a good first step here. Love is a song I wrote one morning in a burst of creativity and then rushed to the studio to record that day. It’s a one-take, unedited performance from a time this winter when I really needed that catharsis. It comes to you now with a video and poster artwork, both based on a doodle-flowchart I made representing the lyrics. It’s a brave new world out there but I’m hoping with a bit of creativity, artists and audiences will be able to find the connection they’ve been missing.”
He certainly gets creative on Love, an offbeat but charming composition, clocking in at a short and sweet 1.58. There’s no verse chorus verse format here, but one free flowing narrative which reads like a vivid and weird dream. It is definitely a ways removed from Tokyo Police Club’s signature catchy guitar rock sound.
The poster used in the Love music video is available on the Tokyo Police Club web store, or you can get it for free if you follow Monks’s Patreon.
With obvious optimism, Tokyo Police Club has announced a Toronto show on May 28 at CityView Drive-In, with Born Ruffians.
Links
Publicity: Rebecca Emms, New Pony Music PR
Mumford & Sons at LASSO Festival in Montreal on August 16, 2026. Lucas Domínguez / Billboard Canada