Oakland-based musician Samuelito Cruz has spent more than a decade quietly crafting lo-fi guitar-pop under the moniker Toner, and today he keeps at it with the respected Smoking Room imprint. Toner is poised to follow up 2023’s God’s Hammer EP with a new full-length, Dynasty House, marking the fourth Toner LP and the first in five years. There’s no album artwork or pre-order page available yet, but fresh music is ready to whet our appetite.
The latest Toner offering, “Cleo,” is out now accompanied by a video directed by Mikey Guzman and Daniel Vazquez. The image above serves as the single’s artwork. It’s a rough-edged power-pop track wrapped in a shimmering haze, with lyrics centered on interpersonal strain: “Gunned down before I get a single word in/ Closed off and you don’t wanna hear about it/ I take a spin around the block, write it off/ While you still remain the same, a burdened shame.” Check it out below.
Dynasty House is out 10/30 on Smoking Room.
