Canadian singer-songwriter and Tokyo Police Club frontman Dave Monks is back with a new solo single and video to match. "Wild Like Me" is the latest release from Monks' forthcoming sophomore solo album I've Always Wanted to Be Me, due later this year via his new label Ghost Pepper Records.
Anchored by glassy piano and a funky, marimba-tinged bassline, "Wild Like Me" sees Monks taking a hard look in the mirror. He admits his insecurities and embarks on a musical journey towards radical acceptance, courageous fun and self-love. You can feel Monks let loose more and more with each repetition of the vocable refrain.
In a statement, the artist said, "In my daydreams, I know exactly what I'm doing," before added: "But pretty soon, it doesn't hold up. Whether it's through something difficult or beautiful, we learn that life is too precious to spend it as anyone other than our true, complicated, messy selves.
"You bare your heart and chase your dreams because this is your one chance and you know it. That's what being 'wild' is to me. 'Wild Like Me' was a stab in the dark that took me to a place I wasn't expecting to go, which — along with making a choreographed dance video — had me flying in the face of that comforting daydream every step of the way."
The DIY video sets its scene in Toronto's Bloordale neighbourhood (check out that "beach!"), where Monks interprets the song with some choreography by his partner Alyson McNamara — whose album Let Me Sleep came out on Ghost Pepper earlier this month.
Monks dances atop an ornamental rug in his Blundstones, changing both locations and outfits throughout in Andrew Friesen's seamless edit. Monks' contagious joy emanates from every frame as he grinningly reminds us: "You may be young, you may be free / But you ain't wild like me."
Watch the video for "Wild Like Me" below.
The song follows earlier 2021 singles "Sweet" and "Love." So far, though, there is no firm release date for I've Always Wanted to Be Me, but it is expected to arrive later in 2021.
Anchored by glassy piano and a funky, marimba-tinged bassline, "Wild Like Me" sees Monks taking a hard look in the mirror. He admits his insecurities and embarks on a musical journey towards radical acceptance, courageous fun and self-love. You can feel Monks let loose more and more with each repetition of the vocable refrain.
In a statement, the artist said, "In my daydreams, I know exactly what I'm doing," before added: "But pretty soon, it doesn't hold up. Whether it's through something difficult or beautiful, we learn that life is too precious to spend it as anyone other than our true, complicated, messy selves.
"You bare your heart and chase your dreams because this is your one chance and you know it. That's what being 'wild' is to me. 'Wild Like Me' was a stab in the dark that took me to a place I wasn't expecting to go, which — along with making a choreographed dance video — had me flying in the face of that comforting daydream every step of the way."
The DIY video sets its scene in Toronto's Bloordale neighbourhood (check out that "beach!"), where Monks interprets the song with some choreography by his partner Alyson McNamara — whose album Let Me Sleep came out on Ghost Pepper earlier this month.
Monks dances atop an ornamental rug in his Blundstones, changing both locations and outfits throughout in Andrew Friesen's seamless edit. Monks' contagious joy emanates from every frame as he grinningly reminds us: "You may be young, you may be free / But you ain't wild like me."
Watch the video for "Wild Like Me" below.
The song follows earlier 2021 singles "Sweet" and "Love." So far, though, there is no firm release date for I've Always Wanted to Be Me, but it is expected to arrive later in 2021.
