Leaves - 'Breathe' (B-Unique)
4/5
By: Toby L
2002 has seen The Coral's, The Vines' and The Music's of our time rising from notable obscurity into considerable notoriety. And, whilst the media-wagon has churned out such acts' praises, quietly progressing all the time were Iceland's Leaves, touring relentlessly and releasing records to their accumulating base of fans up and down the UK.
Rewardingly, the hard work over the past twelve months seems to have paid off for the quartet. Their debut-LP, 'Breathe' - named after their first ever, limited-edition single and a track off this album - is, like the act's present reputation, one of the secret finds of the year. Undoubtedly.
Immediate name-checks of similarities may prompt the recent successes - Doves, Coldplay, et al - and some of the older ones - Radiohead, The Verve, etc. - but let it be clearly defined: Leaves have their own sound - one so sonically aloof and distinctive that as the fifty-minutes of their first ever work slip by, it would be criminal to deny the grace and poignancy of the group's output.
Opening with the captivating 'I Go Down' - assuredly, not a reference to a Swedish porn-movie, by all accounts - the following ten tracks dazzle as much as they daze, delivering various tempos, but typically enchanting, interlocking guitars, complementary strings and melodies that will touch the chilliest of hearts throughout.
In fact, it's the band's ability to combine both the core of traditional balladry with more marginally quicker paced material that provides 'Breathe' with much of its immediate zesty aplomb. So, where you get every sumptuous, towering anthems - 'Alone In The Sun' or 'Race' - also available for rapid consumption are the likes of the stripped-down and engaging 'Suppose' or 'Epitaph'. Add elsewhere to the provided equation Arnar Gudjonsson's unique, distinct vocal, and the darkness of such numbers as 'Deep Blue Day' is fully able to wrap around the listener like a pedestrian in the mistiest of winter-fog. In all, it combines to form a classy introduction to a group with enough ideas for similarly engaging efforts in future times.
Still with a profile yet to be truly raised to its full potential, there's no reason why you shouldn't get ahead of the game and pick up this release: a true, sincere body of music that has pushed epic song-writing to a heady and soaring, new peak. Just don't say you weren't informed.
Artists in this article: Leaves
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment