On Plays to Please Owen Pallett pays tribute to the songs of Toronto’s Alex Lukashevsky and Deep Dark United.

Deep Dark United’s music can be described as…indescribable but under its waves of hazy unease lay perfectly made songs that Pallett had dreamed of giving a big band treatment to ever since he and Lukashevsky bonded on tour over their mutual love of Louis Prima and Marvin Gaye. Working with The St. Kitts Orchestra, Pallett gives the songs a huge stage to strut around on and—were it not for the mordant and contemporary wit in the lyrics—you could mistake Lukashevsky’s songs for being Tin Pan Alley standards.

Given that, why not try dropping “I Saved a Junkie Once” at your grandmother’s birthday this year?