The frantic energy of the single from Century Egg provides a mission statement for the band. “Do You Want to Dance?” could not be more explicit; the Halifax-based four-piece crank a basement pop jam all the way to eleven as an opening salvo to a carefree night of throwing our bodies around like no one is watching. This is crowd-moving music.
Rooted in the bass work of Matty Grace and Meg Yoshida on drums, washed in the noise of Robert Drisdelle’s guitar, the track is immediately brought to a fever pitch by vocalist Shane Keyu Song.”Do You Want to Dance?” channels the band’s early dance punk origins and a low-key anarchistic bent as they ask a non-committal “do you want to do this for a while?” Because, as the band points out, this song is all about rediscovering joy in music and our lives, but what is joy without freedom?
“Life can feel like it’s moving from one existential crisis the next, to the point that one might question the ways they find relief from fears and anxieties, like going out on the town to dance and party,” says the band about the song, despite our current predicament which has resulted in the idea of going out on the town to dance and/or party to induce an above-normal amount of both fear and anxiety.
“With this song, and the band’s music in general, Century Egg want to remind people of the power they have to make their own joy, that it’s hard to worry about anything when you’re dancing.
“We can’t wait until we can party with you again.”
“Do You Want to Dance?” is the first single to be released from Century Egg’s upcoming LP, Little Piece of Hair, which is out via Forward Music Group on May 7, 2021.