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Leaves - Breathe
[1] I Go
Down
[2] Catch
[3] Silence
[4] Breathe
[5] Crazy
[6] Epitaph
[7] Alone
In The Sun
[8] Deep
Blue Day
[9] Suppose
[10] Race
[11] We |
If the
Black Eyed Peas had sold as many copies of ‘Where is the
Love?’ in Iceland as they did in the UK everyone in Iceland
would have 3. For an aspiring Icelandic band that makes it pretty
depressing if you want to make a bit of quick cash. Which is something
The Leaves deserve - and not just of the amounts they can get
in their homeland.
Originally
released just 7 days before Coldplay unleashed ‘A Rush of
Blood to the Head' 'Breathe' certainly put itself up against some
tough competition. Predictably there wasn't exactly a great struggle
at the top of the album chart - but for those lucky enough to
pick up ‘Breathe’ there is certainly a sense of smug
satisfaction; this album is exceptional. Choosing between the
two isn't easy - but Gwyneth Paltrow would probably be disappointed
in my pick. |
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Comparisons
to Coldplay and Radiohead (specifically the "Bends" era) are
all totally justified: they are even listed as influences in the band’s
biography, but 'Breathe' never sounds like a carbon copy of their influences.
Things
get rolling with 'I Go Down' - imagining a less brash album opener probably
isn't possible. This is as laid back as music can get, and is pulled
off to perfection. Simple lyrics that perhaps have a different meaning
in Iceland to over here. Heart warming isn’t exactly the phrase
I’d go for - an ode to providing oral sex to a girlfriend? Maybe.
From
then on the album wanders between rousing anthems and more understated
songs. 'Catch,' 'Crazy,' and 'Alone In The Sun' head up the category
of rousing anthems - all easily capable of filling an empty room. For
some reason they all have a real cinematic feel, filling your senses.
Very easy to find yourself listening when you should be getting on with
something else - probably the mark of an exceptional band.
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Other songs
are much quieter; 'Silence' is reminiscent of the end of an argument
with your partner - the point where you suddenly realise you're
being an idiot and that you're wrong. Then common sense comes
flooding back, and with it "Soft velvet hands in the air
/ Followin' me up the stairs." Very eloquent paraphrasing
that sums up a feeling rarely related in music. Epitaph is another
slower song - stick it in a playlist with REM's 'Everybody Hurts'
for maximum effect. A special mention must be made about the ending
of 'Epitaph' though - one of the loveliest endings ever committed
to CD.
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All in all it's
a little cracker of an album - the good news is they have just returned
to their Reykjavik studio to start work on a follow-up. Here's hoping
it'll be as good as this one.
5/5
Andrew
Revell
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