"If Looks Could Kill" finds Canadian power popper Dany Laj turning a difficult and uncertain period into another collection of heartfelt guitar pop. Written after a long tour of Western Canada and at a point when the band's future wasn't entirely clear, the album became a way of getting back to the thing that mattered most: writing songs.

The result deals with frustration, change, resilience and starting over, but without losing the melodic immediacy that makes Dany Laj And The Looks so appealing. Laj has always had a knack for combining crunchy guitars with big, uncomplicated pop hooks, and here the personal subject matter gives those melodies a little extra weight.

No expensive studio mythology or unnecessary polish - just guitars, honest songwriting and the belief that a great pop song matters more than the gear used to make it. Melodic, heartfelt power pop from one of Canada's most reliable practitioners of the craft.