Honestly, Naked in Toronto by Glutenhead isn’t for everyone. It’s an explosive mash of genres that switches from Animal Collective-esque energy to witchy leaden vocals to piercing from frontman Benjamin Shapiro. When he and his five-piece band roar into the hook with soft harmonies beneath his sharp-toothed shout, all repeating, “I hate my life”, you’re seized with just how special this is, and it isn’t even half over.
An array of instruments join the chaos for an Americana session plus brass and then some. Trying to describe each unique piece from moment to moment is futile. This is wild-eyed inexhaustible energy and it is glorious.
Speaking on the single, Shapiro says:
“‘Naked in Toronto’ is a song about the chaos of living in a city as a young adult, trying to figure out the world and your place in it. It’s the colliding of expectation and reality; the dissonance between what you say and what you feel; the erratic dance of emotion from one moment to the next. Bouncing from place to place, it’s meant to represent the softness and grit of the lively & loving artistic community surrounding Glutenhead – but also the turbulent nature of our moods and emotions.”
Unless current events change, you can catch Glutenhead at Lee’s Palace on May 2. Their debut album, ‘Glugen Frau’, is available through Spotify.
Discover more Toronto-based artists here.