Leon - Uppers & Downers (Freezer)
1/5
By: Keri Kennedy
Sometimes one has to wonder how mediocre bands intent on inflicting themselves upon us get signed in the first place. Leon have solved the problem by creating their own label, Freezer, hoping to shift copies by the truckload. Hmm. However, we wouldn't want to tar other decent self promoters with the same damning brush - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Tapes n' Tapes are perfect examples of where you can get with some determination and a lot of envelopes.
Unfortunately for Leon (presumably named after lead singer Leon Black), 'Uppers And Downers' could more accurately be re-named merely '...Downers', as there's nothing much to be up about here. At best it's a poor Super Furry Animals impression, especially with the psychedelic strum of 'Can't Put You out Of My Mind', where Black marginally imitates the inimitable Gruff Rhys. But the backing of thumped bongos and synthetic guitars is tinny and lacks depth. 'Belong' seems to have been written for Girls Aloud but performed by The Lighthouse Family, if you could imagine such a thing - but why indeed would you want to?
Opener and single 'Be There' has been profoundly described as 'tuneful pop' by a certain tabloid, which can't really be argued with, and while it does possess a catchy little chorus, it doesn't do enough to bring this album up towards anything other than bland, weak alterno-pop status. Sad though it is to say, the band's self assigned strap line of "Who the hell is Leon?" might be well be often cried in future...
Artists in this article: Leona Naess, Leon, Leon Jean-Marie
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