TOLEDO Share Jay Som Co-Produced Single 'How It Ends'

TOLEDO is sharing the title track off of their debut record ahead of its release on Grand Jury Music this Friday, September 23rd. "How It Ends," on its face, is an upbeat folk-rock track that belies the anxiety that weaves throughout the song.

Raised by a single mother, Jordan Dunn-Pilz recalls her struggles with dating and love; reckoning with how those experiences impacted his own ability to be open and loved in romantic relationships.

Following the devastating deadbeat dad song, "Flake", "How It Ends" is another deeply personal yet broadly applicable song where TOLEDO bare their most private fears and struggles in an act of vulnerability that shines through How It Ends.

Speaking about his experiences, Dunn-Pilz writes;

"Watching my mother struggle in love, it planted a seed deep down that keeps me afraid of love and hesitant about marriage. Even when things are going so well, there's a looming tension in the back of my brain that suggests everything is going to fall apart eventually. How do you navigate love and relationships when you don't have a clear example to follow? Is this the curse your parents leave you with?"

While Daniel Alvarez De Toledo speaks to working with Jay Som's Melina Duterte on "How It Ends";

"Working with Melina of Jay Som, we tried to energize this song with piano, natural percussion, and cowbells. There happened to be two cowbells that were tuned (almost) perfectly in our airbnb we were using as a makeshift recording studio."

TOLEDO's last single, "Flake", with its heartbreaking, empowering, refrain; "I fing hate / your guts right now", traces the path to finding yourself from beneath the weight of generational trauma. The band announced their signing to Grand Jury Music earlier this year and shared their first single for the label with "L-Train". The duo proceeded to announce their debut LP, How It Ends, alongside two singles, "Climber" and "Leopard Skin".

Pulling from their childhood influences of 90s adult contemporary and Elliott Smith, Brooklyn-based Dan Álvarez de Toledo, and Jordan Dunn-Pilz' music, which is full of seamless harmonies, skirts the softer edges of indie rock and the darker fringes of pop with each song imbuing a heaping dose of vulnerability and emotional openness.

The announcement of How It Ends follows a string of standout 2021 releases including the Jockeys of Love EP, and "Beach Coma," a Gabe Wax-produced single. The duo, who also work with Jay Som's Melina Duterte on production and recording work, mixed the track alongside Brandon Shoop, while Grammy-nominated Joe Lambert mastered. The music video for "Climber" and companion visualizer for "Leopard Skin" were produced by Matt Hixon, who has produced videos for their label mate Samia and Maya Hawke.

At Grand Jury Music, TOLEDO joins a roster that includes Austin indie folk duo Hovvdy, recent Nashville transplant and songwriting powerhouse Samia, NYC's genre shapeshifter Jordana, Twin City indie pop rebels Hippo Campus & more.

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