I AM JUST A BOY LEAVE ME ALONE !!!, the debut EP from Ottawa trio dad sports, is out today. It’s a collection of brightly hued pop, jangley guitars, and tender post punk. Earlier this week, the dads unveiled the final pre-release single and video for “MANY FACES.” It’s an EP standout. The guitars charge and the synths whirr and the verses & choruses spill into each other until the whole thing collapses in a heap of glitchy, dream pop exhaustion. It’s like if the Rentals were on Flying Nun. Easily the most driving song in the ever-expanding catalog.

The video, directed by the dads themselves, shares a similar tenaciously endearing spirit. It was cobbled together from archival footage and then lovingly adorned with good-bad fonts and superimposed silliness.

The EP is available digitally or on cassette — grab a copy on Bandcamp.   

Some all-caps BIG dad sports news: the Ottawa trio’s debut EP, I AM JUST A BOY LEAVE ME ALONE !!!, is coming March 19th. The EP will be available digitally (pre-save it!) or on cassette (pre-order it!). 

This big news is paired with a celebratory single & music video for the song “nrvs again,” directed by the very talented Noah Keckler, who you’ll remember for being at the helm of the band’s “name & place” clip. The pandemic-themed music video is a ride through the ups and downs of quarantine life with the protagonist recalling the ways we’ve had to find joy in our new paradigm. Meanwhile, “nrvs again” is a testament to the rapid growth of the band since their debut singles in 2019 and lead singer/songwriter Miguel Plante’s skill. The new track was recorded, engineered and mixed by Plante himself, with dad sports’ signature electronic drums and emo-inspired vocals combined in a potent, catchy and endearing ode to overcoming self-doubt.

On I AM JUST A BOY LEAVE ME ALONE !!!, dad sports have leveled up, honing the lo-fi sound of their previous singles into a cohesive EP with a palpable joie-de-vivre that melds jangle-pop, electro, emo and indie-pop.  The new EP includes previously released singles “out 4 a breather”, “gf haircut” and “name & place”, which were lauded by Stereogum, FADER and Paste Magazine. Speaking to the new single Plante says;

“I wrote the chorus for this song 2018, before dad sports was even a thing. I had just met Keith, Alex had just picked up the bass, and I was just beginning to write music. I was still finding myself as an artist and was pretty (nrvs) about what others would think of my songs. These insecurities are what shaped the lyrics. For the next few years, we re-wrote the song over and over and over until we were finally happy with it. To us, the lyrics and the long songwriting process represent the time we spent learning how to do the whole music thing together. I realized that you’re always gonna be insecure in some way about your art, but that’s just part of the process of improving 🙂 🙂 Also I have Alex and Keith to tell me if my lyrics are shit now LOL.”

You can get a copy now with a very limited edition run of I AM JUST A BOY inspired earrings courtesy of Sam Makes Things  over on Bandcamp while supplies last. 

Tracklist:

01 out 4 a breather
02 if u want to !
03 gf haircut
04 nrvs again
05 MANY FACES
06 name & place

Back in August we announced the signing of Ottawa sweethearts dad sports with a pair of perfectly-crafted dream pop tunes “name & place” and “out 4 a breather.”  Today the boys returns with a song that commands you to feel things about that haircut your ex gave you a few months back. “Alex and I were hanging in our basement while rocking haircuts that our exes gave us when we came up with the idea for the song,” says dad sports’ Miguel Plante. “It’s about how those haircuts outlasted the relationships.”

On “gf haircut” they run through several minutes of brightly-lit guitar pop before arriving at our favorite coda of 2020: a wistful wash of DIY Death Cab and twinkly bedroom emo catharsis. The video is exactly what you’d expect: fucking adorable, tracking the theme of the song with a lighthearted energy. “The original plan was to cut our actual hair in the vid,” says Plante. “But we all shaved our heads during the summer so we just got some funny wigs instead.”

Stream “gf haircut” here, and stay tuned for more from dad sports soon.

Incredibly excited to announce that dad sports is now part of the Grand Jury roster. As soon as we caught wind of the Ottawa three-piece we fell in love. They’ve quickly made a name for themselves on the back of a series of self-produced singles and a wistful brand of hazy, windswept dream pop. It’s like if a band on Flying Nun soundtracked some long lost Nora Ephron film. Heavy on the nostalgia and the melody, but sharp edges in clear focus, somehow pulling off a kind of chilly warmth. We could spend another hour or so attempting to describe it, but we’ll spare you that.

This morning our friends over at the FADER announced the signing and premiered a music video for “name & place.” The clip, which FADER calls “its own tactile daydream,” was directed by Noah Keckler. And while the young filmmaker might not be aiming for Nora Ephron with this one, he certainly hits a nostalgia-soaked 90s sweet spot. The visual is the perfect compliment to the song’s intention.

About “name & place,” frontman Miguel Plante says, “you know that feeling when you’re looking out of a car window, and it’s dark out, and everything is just really beautiful and you feel like you’re in a coming of age movie? We tried to make this song exactly that.”

We’re so very excited for what comes next!