Tops' Jane Penny Shares New Single; Announces Debut Shows In NYC, LA & More

Jane Penny - vocalist, keyboardist and co-founder of Montreal indie pop band TOPS - recently announced her solo debut. Surfacing, an EP set for release on April 5th via Luminelle Recordings, was previewed by the critically acclaimed “Messages,” and today Penny shares another taste of the record with “Wear You Out.” 

“Wear You Out,” out now, is a sensual song that features enchanting syncopated lyrical moments in the opening verse. It's a love song, easy listening at a surface level, but the chorus can be read as uneasily erotic. “Baby I wear you out/ Like my favorite pair of jeans/ You make the rainbows fly every time/ Like a sixties magazine,” Penny sings, her lustrous voice like a magazine's weathered sheen. In the accompanying video, a groomed Penny performs a choreographed dance while dirtying herself with white paint, pulpy fruit, and dirt from an upturned flower pot. 

“I wanted to make something poppy and cute but also a bit sinister and weird, sensual and witty,” says Penny. Lots of wordplay, a bit dirty, I think the video represents the song well. Sometimes the greatest passion and the most intense love is slightly destructive and I wanted to explore that in a fun way.”

Jane Penny also announces her debut solo performances under her own name. See below to find a show near you, and get your tickets HERE.

Wednesday, 5/29 - Toronto, ON - The Baby G

Saturday, 6/1 - New York, NY - Joe's Pub

Thursday, 6/6 - Montreal, QC - Casa del Popolo

Thursday, 6/13 - Los Angeles, CA - Gold Diggers

While a solo endeavor had been ruminating for Jane Penny for a few years already, it was after TOPS' European tour in March 2020 – when Penny and her then-partner, musician Adam Byczkowski (Better Person), found themselves ill with long COVID – that Surfacing came to materialize. Written, produced and recorded by the classically-trained Penny between Berlin and Montreal, Surfacing was made over the course of mostly-isolated years as Penny acted as caretaker for her bed-ridden partner.

Whereas all of TOPS' music – crafted as a cohesive unit – consists of fleshed-out instrumentation like drums, bass, guitar and keyboard, Surfacing is an exploration of creating one's own world, through electronic music, samples and production, with the only “organic” sounds being Penny's voice, her flute and the occasional wind chime. 

Photo Credit: Kirk Lisaj