Howdy, it’s Matt. I came for the music reviews, stayed for the dick jokes.
On to my first review:
Leafer does one of the best Wolf Parade impressions I’ve ever heard. That being said, there is certainly enough b-rate Spencer Krug-esque canadian indie in the world, especially after the release of Expo ’86.
From the start of their Burkinafaso EP, the bands intentions are very clear: piano-driven progressions with trebly guitar runs, slamming snare, and shaky vocals - circa early 00s Montreal. And I must say, they do this pretty cleanly. If there’s one thing to say about the band, it’s that they aren’t sloppy.
The EP's opener, Glowing Shapes, starts with pretty interesting organ/guitar work. The poppy groove is then interrupted by some circusy vocal melodies. After several listens, I am confident that the lead singer is none other than Count Chocula. (Why is he playing in a band whose name sounds like a lawn care service? I'm also really surprised General Mills gave him the time off to do guest vocals on an EP) Continuing on, the vocals go a lot of interesting places. Most notably, the shouty, quasi-emo points in the middle of Angry Jim and the shaky, Xiu Xiu style vocals during Lights. They even toss in an occasional verse in french to verify their residence in Quebec. Perhaps the variety of vocal styles is indicative of the singer's inability to decide which vocals are most appropriate for the music - given the options, I vote for the shaky ones. Ultimately, this smorgasbord indie vocal stylings becomes a little annoying. And don't try to pull that "its just experimental" shit. It doesn't apply.
The band manages to incorporate about 4 different variation of the same “oh-oh-oh” bridge into every song. They just do not know when to stop. Take the bridge that comes in at 1:10 in Glowing Shapes for example. I understand what you’re getting at bro, you don’t need to beat me over the head with it. If you have a part you like, make people want more of it.
The band is redeemed by their cohesion. Throughout the album, seemingly cacophonous combinations of styles manage to keep themselves in check. From noisy post rock progressions to dick-waving mariachi influenced breaks, it all works together pretty well. Leafer certainly has talent - decent vocals, well-written guitar and synth lines, and appropriate drumming. However, despite the bands ability to mix a few styles pretty flawlessly, it's hard to get excited about the music. Whether they're merely part of an extremely niche genre or unoriginal is often indistinguishable. I'm sure they could ghostwrite the next Spencer Krug album without anyone noticing.
If you bump into them, throw them a handy for good measure, they're pretty good musicians.
3.5/5
I wouldn’t choose to listen to this over other music, but if they were playing at a house party I could probably get into it. This rating started at a 2, but upon a few listens it climbed. I also couldn't justify giving these guys such low rating considering some of other ratings on here. They are eons away from shitty bands like Covington. Those guys really blow.
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