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Hopium (Press) 3:400:00/3:40
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Mindy Please (Press) 3:340:00/3:34
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MEDIA PRESS RELEASE- February 9th, 2026
RELEASE DATE: February 20th, 2026
Melodic, Piano-Driven Rock
Singer-songwriter Dave Lebental returns with his second solo LP, a collection of melodic, piano-driven rock songs that reveal an artist hitting his creative stride.
Q- Why did you name the album "Stylus"
A- “The title Stylus reflects who I am as a songwriter, a lifelong vinyl listener, and a recording artist who’s always balancing new ideas with classic form. I wanted a title that nodded quietly to my love of albums and the ritual of listening. I knew a stylus as the needle on a turntable — what I didn’t realize at first is that the word also means a writing instrument. Once I made that connection, it felt exactly right. The album lives at that intersection: songs written by hand, then brought to life on record.”
Listen to "Stylus"
An Enduring Voice from the Rock Underground
An Underground Story Still Unfolding
At an age when many artists are content to reflect on past achievements, Dave Lebental is still moving forward. His latest album, Stylus, follows 2024’s The Long Player, which earned positive attention across the music blogosphere and accumulated more than one million combined streams on Spotify and YouTube.
Rather than remain in the Americana lane of his previous work, Lebental leans into his long-standing love of melodic, piano-driven rock on Stylus. Drawing inspiration from writers such as The Beatles, Elton John, Supertramp, and Elvis Costello. the album reflects a tradition of piano-based songwriting built on melody, emotional clarity, and songs designed to last.
Like the records that inspired it, Stylus is forward-looking rather than nostalgic. The album offers new songs for listeners who grew up with classic piano rock and are still searching for music that delivers the same sense of discovery and connection.
Lebental is joined by his live band, Karma Train, and together they are based in Los Angeles, touring West Coast venues while maintaining a global presence through a series of monthly live concert streams broadcast from an underground studio. These performances bring Stylus to life in full, offering audiences an unfiltered, performance-driven introduction to the record and the band behind it.
Dave Lebental & Karma Train Live
Touring The WEst COast In Support of "Stylus"
Discover "Stylus" — A Monthly Live YouTube Concert Series
Stylus LP- Song By Song
Addition By Subtraction
Rock singer-songwriter Dave Lebental delivers a sharp, up-tempo piano-rock track powered by impertinent guitar riffs and biting, clear-eyed lyrics. “Addition By Subtraction” captures the moment when patience runs out and clarity finally sets in.
“It’s amazing how much bullshit we’ll put up with before we finally do the emotional math and realize we’re better off without someone,” says Lebental. “This song is about the day I opened my eyes and was ready to move on.”
Built on a classic piano-rock foundation with a modern edge, the song channels the spirit of Elvis Costello, The Kinks, Billy Joel, and John Lennon, pairing urgency and melody with a hard-earned sense of release. Lyrically, it confronts the realization that while someone may have good qualities, the drama they bring outweighs the connection.
“It’s that moment of clarity when you understand your life will actually improve without that person in it,” Lebental adds. “Ending the relationship isn’t a loss — it’s addition by subtraction.”
Mulberry Drive
“Mulberry Drive” looks back at a suburban childhood shaped by bike rides, street corners, and long afternoons outside — a time when the neighborhood itself was our social network. For singer-songwriter Dave Lebental, that world feels both familiar and impossibly distant.
Built on bright, optimistic piano-rock riffs, the song opens in memory before gradually shifting as the lyrics confront the weight of modern adult life. As responsibilities and noise creep in, the tone darkens, leading to the realization that there’s no returning to where we came from — or who we once were.
The song completes its arc with an uplifting chorus that celebrates the joy and freedom of that long-gone suburban innocence, not as something to reclaim, but as something worth honoring. With its classic piano-rock feel and reflective edge, “Mulberry Drive” will resonate with fans of The Kinks, Supertramp, Billy Joel, Elton John, and The Beatles.
Changing The Way I Feel
“Changing The Way I Feel” offers a behind-the-scenes look at the songwriting process, told from the songwriter’s point of view. Written on piano by Dave Lebental, the song moves through the familiar private moments of creation — procrastination, writer’s block, unfinished ideas, late nights — before inspiration finally breaks through.
The chorus marks the turning point: that rush of clarity when a song comes together and the first playback sounds exactly right. It’s the moment when frustration gives way to momentum, and the work suddenly feels worth it.
With a playful piano-rock groove and classic pop instincts, “Changing The Way I Feel” sits comfortably alongside influences like ELO, Supertramp, Elton John, and The Beatles. Lebental performs nearly every instrument on the recording — from piano, organ, bass, and slide guitar to synths, horns, and vocals — underscoring the song’s hands-on, exploratory spirit.
At its core, the song celebrates music’s quiet power to shift perspective. As Lebental puts it:
“It’s not changing the world — it’s changing the way I feel.”
Hopium
On “Hopium,” rock singer-songwriter Dave Lebental drifts into a hazy, dreamlike soundscape of chiming guitars, swirling organ, and mist-soft piano. The music mirrors the fragile comfort of belief — the place we retreat to when reality starts to crack.
Lyrically, the song explores the human tendency to cling to hope even as things fall apart. Rather than face loss or failure, we inhale something gentler and more dangerous: the promise that things will somehow work out. That illusion becomes its own kind of escape, numbing anxiety and clouding judgment.
“Hopium” lives in that tension between wanting to believe and knowing better — a quiet meditation on hope as both refuge and delusion.
Race to the Bottom
“Race to the Bottom” rides a smooth, infectious reggae-pop groove that feels easy on the surface and pointed underneath. Built on laid-back rhythms and warm melodies, the track offers a deceptively relaxed entry point into a harder conversation.
Lyrically, the song confronts the disillusionment left behind by lying politicians, disreputable business leaders, and cheating athletes — figures driven by win-at-all-costs thinking. Their shortcuts and scandals don’t just damage their own reputations; they erode public trust and leave a lasting sense of cynicism in their wake.
Balancing message with melody, “Race to the Bottom” delivers its critique with a light touch, making it equally suited for casual listening and closer attention. Fans of Bob Marley, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and Peter Tosh will recognize the blend of groove, accessibility, and social awareness.
I Can Always Count On You
You know that person — the one who takes and takes, then disappears when it’s time to give something back. Excuses are guaranteed. Disappointment is reliable.
On “I Can Always Count On You,” singer-songwriter Dave Lebental channels that frustration into an edgy, no-holds-barred rock track that calls out the conceited, self-serving, and reliably unreliable. It’s a cathartic four-minute blast of rock ’n’ roll that says exactly what you’ve thought but never said out loud.
The track is built on layers of sizzling electric guitars, Hammond organ, buzzing synths, deep bass, and a driving drum groove. Lebental’s vocal sits right on the edge — recorded in a single take and left deliberately raw, preserving the imperfections that give the song its venom and conviction.
Fans of The Kinks, The Cars, Tom Petty, and Elvis Costello will recognize the sharp hooks and direct attitude. Turn it up and let it do the talking.
Mindy Please
“Mindy Please” delivers a rock-and-soul groove with a wink, built to make you smile. It’s an autobiographical snapshot of a younger Dave Lebental, heading out for drinks with his buddies and forgetting he’d already made dinner plans with his wife. One thing leads to another, and he finds himself locked out, keys missing, knocking on the door — and getting exactly what he deserves.
Driven by horns and guitar that give the verses a classic Memphis/Stax feel, the song opens up in the chorus with a burst of indie-rock energy. Lebental handles bass, guitars, horns, and Hammond organ on the track, joined by former Brian Wilson Band drummer Nelson Bragg.
Warm, self-aware, and good-humored, “Mindy Please” laughs at the small, familiar mistakes we make — and the foolish confidence of younger men who haven’t quite learned yet.
True Understanding
“True Understanding” unfolds like a conversation — first her version of what happened, then his. The details don’t line up, the emotions don’t match, and yet both sides are convinced they’re right. What they share is the same quiet hope: to be heard.
Built on a catchy piano-rock foundation, the song moves between punchy sections and more restrained moments, mirroring the shifting dynamics of a relationship in conflict. The arrangement rises and falls as perspectives collide, then soften, in search of common ground.
Rock singer-songwriter Dave Lebental handles vocals, piano, guitars, and Hammond organ, supported by a steady, grounded drum performance from Bryon Holley and a fluid, elastic bass line from “Slick” Mick Linden of Karma Train. At its core, “True Understanding” offers a simple, hard-earned reminder: listening matters as much as speaking.
Not Exactly As You Planned
“Not Exactly As You Planned” is a piano-driven blues-rock track rooted in classic songwriting traditions, drawing on the melodic instincts of Elton John, Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Leon Russell, and Paul McCartney. Warm and reflective, the song blends blues and gospel-influenced chord changes with a story shaped by real life.
The lyrics follow a young couple navigating unexpected hardships — the kind of twists that derail plans and force a reckoning. Written at the piano, the song reflects Lebental’s belief that life’s setbacks aren’t anomalies but inevitabilities. As he puts it, “When things go sideways, they’re not the exception — they’re the rule. Sooner or later, we all hit a significant bump in the road.”
The arrangement features Dave Lebental on piano, Hammond organ, electric guitars, bass, violin, and vocals, with Dan Boissy of Karma Train adding saxophone and former Driftwood Soul drummer Bryon Holley providing the rhythmic backbone. Together, they give the song a sense of resilience that mirrors its message.
You Figure It Out
Closing the album on a relaxed, island-tinged groove, “You Figure It Out” offers a sense of ease and reassurance. Built on a laid-back reggae-pop rhythm, the track carries a light, melodic touch that lingers — the kind of song that stays with you long after it ends.
Written as a message to his children in their early twenties, singer-songwriter Dave Lebental frames the song as quiet encouragement rather than instruction. It acknowledges how uncertain direction and purpose can feel, while offering a simple, patient truth: clarity comes with time.
“It’s okay,” Lebental says. “Life takes its course. Little by little, you figure it out.”
With its breezy feel and understated optimism, the song will resonate with fans of Bob Marley, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Jason Mraz. Lebental produced and engineered the track in his Southern California home studio, performing piano, bass, guitars, and horns, alongside a steady reggae-rock drum groove by Tim Freund.
Song Lyrics
US Non-Commercial Radio Adds Advance Single "Mulberry Drive" to their playlists
31 US Stations Add Dave Lebental to their Playlis
Radio Reported by PlayMPE
Top 20 most downloaded tracks by US
Week of Feb 5th, 2026
Vinyl sales proceeds of "Stylus" are being donated to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Pictured above are Dave & Theresa Webster of CHLA as Dave delivers all the proceeds from the vinyl sales of his 1st LP, "The Long Player" in Dec 2024.