Album Reviews |

The Leisure Society



The Sleeper 9 ( 2009 )
A Fighting Chance / The Sleeper / The Last of the Melting Snow / A Short Weekend Begins With Longing / We Were Wasted / Save It For Someone Who Cares / The Darkest Place I Know / Are We Happy? / Come To Your Senses / A Matter of Time / Love's Enormous Wings

The Leisure Society have been winning critcal kudo's and attention recently following an Ivor Novello nomination for 'Best Song Musically & Lyrically' for their debut single, 'The Last Of The Melting Snow'. I've read comparisons to Nick Drake and Fleet Foxes yet the truth is somewhere slightly else. Mandolins and Banjos introduce an Americana feel yet this is filtered through a distinctly British, pastoral world-view. The title track for instance is almost impossibly brilliant, like a Sufjan Stevens who remembers to write melodies. 'The Last Of The Melting Snow' is just as beautiful as, let's say, 'The Fox In The Snow' by Belle and Sebastian. The lyrics are subtle, simple and clever. The instrumentation of piano, flute, strings and bass is just right and the arrangement is just right. Although initially released at the tail end of 2008 as the debut Leisure Society single, calling it the song of 2009 wouldn't be much of an exaggeration. Well, NME don't like bands who don't play loud guitars and stupidly gave 'The Sleeper' a 3/10 review earlier in the year. Silly fellows, seeing as 'The Sleeper' is almost too good, certainly too good to be British, at any rate.

Do you remember Sarah Records, The Field Mice and the excellent Twee Pop of the 80s that John Peel would play? The Leisure Society are spot on with the same feeling, it just makes you happy and wipes away your worries. These guys really can write songs too. 'Short Weekend Begins With Longing' is a proper composition, it's not just a few chords and distorted guitars and a John Lennon poetry book all thrown together and produced by some idiot like Dave Eringa.

'We Were Wasted' reminds me of Simon And Garfunkel, 'Save It For Someone Who Cares' is like a cross between Elliot Smith and childrens TV show 'Bagpuss'. 'Are We Happy?' reminds me of Sean O'Hagen of Microdisney/High Llamas. The intro is Microdisney, the chorus as such is High Llamas and it's all quite lovely, really. Oh sure, at times the album seems too knowing and polite for its own good, yet a tune like the six minute 'A Matter Of Time' proves these guys can stretch out when they want to. Highly recommended for all readers of adriandenning.co.uk then? Well, NME don't like it, so of course it is.

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