Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of November 8th-14th, 2015:
The Persian Leaps - High & Vibrate
01. The Infection
02. Under The Lilacs
03. Dottie, Queen Of The West
04. Frozen
05. Anthem
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| Photo Credit: Jason Larkin |
As anybody who follows this blog knows, The Persian Leaps have been friends of Flatbasset Radio for quite some time now. Their debut EP Praise Elephants was an AOTW back in December of 2013 and its follow up Drive Drive Delay was an AOTW almost a year ago exactly. After putting out a couple of Soundcloud-only covers (including an excellent take on Teenage Fanclub's "The Concept" that became a Flatbasset Radio Cover Of The Week back in Episode #57), here we are with their third EP High & Vibrate. Considering lead singer Drew Forsberg also runs the successful & prolific Land Ski Records, the fact that EP #3 is ready to roll at all is quite an accomplishment (never mind the fact that its songs are excellent).
The Persian Leaps proved over those first two EP's that their bread-and-butter will always be power-pop. On High & Vibrate Singer/guitarist Forsberg, drummer Michael McCloskey, & new bassist/secret weapon Adam Brunner continue to write immediate, catchy power-pop that is perfectly at home in the Midwestern tradition that stretches back from Cheap Trick to The Replacements to The Promise Ring. However, like those bands before them, they continue to add wrinkles to their sound.
Praise Elephants was built on a very clean sound (so much to that I likened them, in a complimentary way, to the Gin Blossoms). On Drive Drive Delay they sanded off some of the polish, giving the EP an indie punk flavor in sound if not entirely in lyrics (which have always maintained a secretly perfect sort of Midwestern passive-aggressiveness in that regard). On High & Vibrate they keep those rough edges, but add a surprising, almost mathematical groove to the album. Give album opener "The Infection" a listen:
As you can hear there, the band's taken their Gin-Blossoms-meets-GBV sound and added a dash of Devo-esque rhythm to it. Sure, the song still gives in to those big, beautiful power chords when it's time for the hard sell, but they're clearly challenging themselves by finding new ways to get to that sweet spot. While I certainly don't know the inner-workings of the band, the addition of Brunner on bass has really given the band muscle. He & McCloskey seem to have found a chemistry that gives these songs a bit more swagger than was found on those previous EP's.
Check out the video here for "Under The Lilacs" and take note of the use of the clipped "uh oh's" that lead up to the chorus:
(Quick Video Sidenote: God, what a gloriously 90's video. The walking/singing shots, the blurred VHS-style shots, the close-ups of the instruments. If, like me, you grew up with 120 Minutes, it should be obvious why I love these guys so much.)
As you can & hear in those first couple of songs, the big, catchy chorus is still what hits hardest. However, those little detours along the way are what keep me coming back for repeated listens.
Now, traditionally the third release from an artist is a make-or-break type of affair. Think Park Life. Think The Queen Is Dead. Think Summerteeth. However, those are all from three-album cycles rather than this three-EP cycle we have here. Still, Mr. Forsberg, with his keen sense of pop history, takes the time to address the state of The Persian Leaps in closer "Anthem." "Nobody ever believed it, that guys like us could win..." he sings before heading into a chorus that simply consists of defiant "Uh uh's" and "No way's," both of which are directed at unnamed critics who seem to desire The Persian Leaps to fail.
In a way "Anthem" brings closure to a cycle started on Drive Drive Delay's opener "Firestarter," a call-to-arms to bandmates, fans, or simply to Forsberg himself. Bringing it all back home on "Anthem," he seems to be taking a victory lap after three excellent EP's, his own record label, & a growing fan base that wasn't built on gimmicks or buzz, but rather, at its heart, on well-crafted, thoughtful pop songs. In a music industry that's seems to place less and less emphasis on quality songwriting with every surprise album drop and pop-up venue, that's cause for a celebration.
If you'd like to pick up a copy of High & Vibrate for your very own you can head over to The Persian Leaps Bandcamp page. I'd also recommend checking out the Land Ski Records site. They've got an impeccable track record as well as some fantastic stuff coming out in the very near future.
For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page. Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.
