Leafhound
Unleashed
Reunions, reunions…the world is awash with them ! Personally, I found Take That bad enough the first time, I don’t want them back with even more corny songs and still trying to dance. Led Zep perform again, but not one new song ! Likewise Cream …and then our friend Stink trots out his Police songbook once again, still failing to pitch any of them in a key that suits his voice and still wasting the great Andy Summers….pah! BUT !!! here is Pete French and his new Leafhound lineup that miraculously captures the original band’s vibe and creates new songs – praise be ! I cannot claim neutrality as I have played with Pete and hold him in high regard, he would have every right with a voice like that to be cocky but he never is. And the obvious regard he has for his band is justified and touching.
For the uninitiated : you won’t have heard a band so surefooted yet fiery, so rocky yet so soulful, so tight yet so flowing. Well, not outside The Inmates anyhow…and French shares with Inmates singer Bill Hurley the ability to make every phrase count without showboating.
Now driven by the high-octane guitar of lefthanded Luke Rayner – king of the burning build-up – Leafhound have a pumping rhythm section in Ed Pearson and drummer Jimmy Rowland. This gives Pete a lively but dependable backdrop for his tales of heartbreak, betrayals and warnings.
The glorious ‘Nickels and Dimes’ is pretty much a folk-ballad and not a huge distance in sentiment from Woody Guthrie, electrified to the right notch by the band ; the insistent ‘Barricades’ is already a live favourite. And you should hear what Rayner has done to the Atomic Rooster gem ‘Breakthrough’, a fine rearrangement. Leafhound’s music is already featured in/being considered for films and deservedly so. What would be a shame is if the record doesn’t get heard or reviewed outside rock/metal circles which is always a danger for a rock act. This crew have nothing in common with the Satan’s Scrotum / Bucket of Filth stuff that passes for ‘rock’ with some folk. If you had to evoke another band, it might more fairly be Steppenwolf or Living Colour – melodic music with punch.
All credit to Repertoire offshoot Rare for putting this album out. This is a high-quality act with a style of its own and I believe a great future
Pete Sargeant www.fairhearing.co.uk
