Dan Bryk, Lover’s Leap (Teenage USA/Scratchie Records)

Launching this week at Lee's Palace (see Carl Wilson's "Clubs" for more details) Bryk's anecdotal pop sketches a loserish everyman, consumed by geek envy, tied in knots by the rules of dating, and inclined to see a personal metaphor in the abortive Spadina Expressway. The tunes are often unremarkable, but Bryk's lo-fi singing style is just right for the material, and his allusion to Randy Newman is not inappropriate.

-Robert Everett-Green

CLUBS

DAN BRYK Oct 4, 10:30PM, Lee's Palace

Launching his new disc Lovers Leap, Toronto's Dan Bryk joins the likes of Brit band Hefner in marrying a 1980's post-punk feel to a contemporary personal pop voice.

-Carl Wilson