Introducing singer/songwriter Rory D’Lasnow who first picked up his father’s right-handed guitar as a small child, instinctively and decided to play the instrument upside-down and backwards. Most guitarists play right handed. Some play lefty guitar. Only a select few treat the instrument as if it’s not even a guitar at all such as legendary artists like Babyface, Buddy Miles, Jimmy Cliff and Dick Dale.
Despite never turning the guitar right-side up, Rory has cultivated a unique contemplative sound that has propelled him on to perform at some of the East Coast’s most distinguished venues and festivals; from the Knitting Factory, The Bowery Electric, Pianos and Rockwood Music Hall, to Revolution Music Hall on Long Island, and The Saint and Brighton Bar on the Jersey Shore.
D’Lasnow has also had the honor of opening for featured headliners such as American Idol winner Lee DeWyze, actor/musician Drake Bell, and John Corabi of Motley Crue/Dead Daisies fame. Next year, Rory is slated to perform on the Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival acoustic stage for the New Found Glory and The Early November session in April 2021.
“An American Lie”, the new single/video from emerging East Coast based Singer/Songwriter Rory D’Lasnow, will be available Friday July 31st, 2020 on Spotify, YouTube and all the other major services.
LISTEN TO “AN AMERICAN LIE” ON SOUNDCLOUD
The song, written among the ever-increasing instances of violence against people of color in America, speaks to the ever widening dichotomy of “An American Lie”; the supposed promise of liberty, justice and equality for all. D’Lasnow holds the belief that we as Americans are pledging our allegiance to a false ideal that is not fully realized for many of our citizens.
“We the people are responsible for standing up to speak out when we see wrongs done to our fellow man, and to help make them right whenever we can”, Rory said, “So we protest, we become activists. But then, once the public outrage subsides, the same targeting, abuse of power, and negligence in response – which has been going on for centuries – quickly returns; to a collective shrug from the general public.”
After spending the better part of the past two years performing as the opening act for national artists at some of the East Coast’s most distinguished venues and festivals, Singer/Songwriter Rory D’Lasnow; who – like Babyface, Buddy Miles, Jimmy Cliff and Dick Dale – plays right handed guitar upside down and backwards (“Lefty” as it were; but not quite) was in quarantine writing for his new EP. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and recognizing this important moment in history, he resolved to contribute his music and its message to the cause. That respect and reverence for resilience is encompassed in “An American Lie”.
D’Lasnow continued, “My hope is that we can unite as a human race to eliminate the bigotry and prejudice that is so rampant in society today. My goal is to use my voice in the best way I can to stand up for equality and justice”.
In his latest single and music video, titled “American Lie,” singer/songwriter Rory D’Lasnow continues to impress critics and fans alike with his warm tonality, earnest lyrical style and humble poeticisms – the best of which, I might add, could well be contained within the three and a half minutes this song runs.
Rory’s voice ascends into the heavens with a simple strut, but beyond his black and white delivery, there’s very little in “American Lie” that I would describe as being unelaborate in nature. Like a warm ray of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy afternoon, this is one track almost guaranteed to shift your mood towards the positive no matter how many times it’s been played before.
I absolutely love the emotional depth created by the harmony between Rory’s vocal and the guitar parts in the track, and whether you’ve been following his career thus far or are just now getting into his music for the very first time, I think it’s clear that there isn’t anything forced in his execution here.
“American Lie” is a very relaxed composition in every way that actually counts for something – in rhythm, rhyme and tone, there’s an easygoingness to this song that you don’t hear every day on the FM dial, and that alone makes it quite the pop gem indeed.
This master mix, which is the same whether analyzing the song on its own, is supremely detailed from top to bottom, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming in the least. I can definitely see where both casual pop fans and more serious audiophiles would enjoy the vivid textural expressiveness of the instrumental components here, and though the video is a very fetching watch, I’m confident that the bulk of audiences who take a peek at Rory D’Lasnow’s work will be far more intrigued by his compositional skillset than they are anything comprising his cosmetic appeal (which, to be fair, is admittedly vast all by itself).
Those who have been hoping for some chill-inducing harmonies out of the pop underground this spring are sure to find a homerun of a single in Rory D’Lasnow’s “American Lie,” and at the moment, I would rank this as being the best song this artist has shared with us to date. Rory is developing a marvelous talent for melding the sublimely simple with the decadently melodic in his music, and as long as he continues to bring the passion that he displays in this track to his future recordings, he’s going to find himself a great deal of professional respect in the years to come
“An American Lie” is out now..
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