Introducing : Leaflog
Last week we kicked off this series of posts focusing on acts closer to home with KVX the first Cork act to go under the microscope. Next up we have a foursome from Killarney (yet based in Cork) called :
Before we proceed any further let me make the introductions. Leaflog are :
Padraig Daly (on guitar, rhodes, synths and glockenspiel)
Sean Daly (guitar)
Dave Kissane (bass)
Shane O’Neill (drums)
The E.P. Mayday was released in the latter half of 2010 and it has received some positive reviews (such as the Drop-D review here) and for good reason.
To describe Leaflog in a nutshell it would be to pocket them as a four-piece instrumental rock band but therein lies the problem : attempting to describe Leaflog in a nutshell.
Mayday opens with a clean electric elegantly picking its way through a straight-forward yet absorbing guitar-filled verse before a second guitar enters the fray, adding its own delicate melody, criss-crossing each other only at the end of each bar. Just when I begin to think I have Leaflog pegged not only a trumpet but also a glockenspiel is introduced to the action with enchanting effect and this innocently sweet section of Mayday would not stand out on an Icelandic acts (such as Múm) records. Somehow the drums have managed to sneek their way in as a crescendo seemingly starts to build before the drums take the track off-course (and by off-course I simply mean off the beaten track. There are no negatives here) before the Killarney quartet finally let rip with effects and volume for the first time. The E.P. is worth purchasing for the opening track alone. Trust me.
Like a magician and his box of tricks, Leaflog use sleight of hand and the art of misdirection to staggering effect. Who expects a glockenspiel after a two minute intro of duelling electric guitars and then
who expects an Explosions in the Sky-esque outro after such a gentle glockenspiel/trumpet section.
Strings are added to the bands core sound for the aptly titled “Dreams Of Sleep” where a bit more experimentation is carried out with the effects on the lead guitar and “Bluepool” treads similar waters but with a clarinet keeping the track just different enough to stand out.
Naively enough I am now certain I have the Leaflog sound down to a tee. This is of course before “Graveyard Birdhouse” comes along featuring piano and strings only. I see the title of the fifth track, “Enough”, and I figure “you are right Leaflog. Enough is indeed enough” and I simply sit back and enjoy the final song on Mayday which peaks at the hardest the band have rocked on the entire record, just one last twist to the Leaflog mindset.
To purchase/download/listen to Mayday simply click here.
www.leaflogtheband.com/
www.myspace.com/kvxuality
leaflog.bandcamp.com
