Leaves @ Camden Dingwalls, 17.04.02

Their gentle, heartbreaking delivery might read like a who's who? of nu-progressive, and they may have a new single 'Race' to plug but if it wasn't for those pesky headliners, The Coral around to spoil it, they might just have got away with it.

30/04/2002

We’re kind of confused. We can’t decide whether it’s us that’s indecisive and slightly fickle or that Leaves really don’t settle and never actually become anything much really. We had thought we’d got these Icelandic song-men all worked out from their beautiful debut single, the heartbreaking lullaby ‘Breathe’, and it’s painfully slight tinkering massage down the receptors in your spine. It was a little Coldplay, but more, that much more atmospheric, so maybe a little Sigur Ros too. Forthcoming single ‘Race’ may have thrown the scent a little, making like Haven do when the wind picks up from a mere breeze, making like it just wants to be more blatant. Which is fine too, because the delicacy remains.

So arriving on stage to the hum of feedback with a determined gait to their slightly cautious stride and we’re nervously waiting for a shock. But the feedback isn’t quite feedback, it’s not that offensive, it hangs around in the air hinting at a mild discomfort but won’t go all the way there. It’s still, well, nice – and that shock doesn’t come. Shame. But neither do they sink back down to that untainted innocence that they oozed when we first heard the CD, even when they get to the single. It’s still achingly slender (only ruined by the clattering chatter of Coral fans) but the delivery really marks Amar Gudjonsson out as something as obvious as An Indie Singer – that general nonchalance rising up to wide-mouthed gusto, head cocked to the side, beads of sweat adhering floppy fringe to forehead.

But for all the comparisons this might draw fleetingly to The Divine Comedy and Gene particularly, they don’t stick at it. Acoustic muses one moment, before we know it a raw flash of guitar and droll vocal sees them making like Mansun doing The Soundtrack Of Our Lives (which maybe explains the keyboardist’s beard). Only they don’t throttle that for too long either before stepping back again, then throwing in a transitory Radiohead wild card. Then there’s guitar lines that stop just short of becoming solos. Though this is certainly a good thing. And with influences, you can’t avoid Coldplay (the gentle backing woven by gentle distortion), but the ebbing away from that doesn’t help. Then Sigur Ros (the building from nothing to everything) is there, but you wouldn’t call it an influence, you just know they’ve got the CD at home. Then the rock. Argh, we don’t know, but we do know that there are some powerful songs just waiting to be sung back at them. So we scarper before headliners The Coral ruin the contemplative cloud we’re on.

More dates:

May Thursday 2nd London, Water Rats
Friday 3rd Manchester Academy
Saturday 4th Wolverhamptun Wulfrun Hall
Sunday 5th Essential Music Festival
Tuesday 7th Portsmouth Pyramid
Thursday 9th London Forum
Friday 10th Liverpool University
Saturday 11th Sheffield Leadmill
Sunday 12th Edinburgh La Belle Angel
Tuesday 14th Newport TJ's
Wednesday 15th Brighton Concorde
Thursday 16th London Astoria

James Berry for Crud Magazine© 2002

04/02 1 Giant Leap - My Culture 04/02 Elfpower Interview - Andrew Rieger - Creatures 04/02 Frou Frou Interview - Guy Sigsworth/Imogen Heap 04/02 Gomez Interview - Ian Ball 04/02 Idlewild - Live - London Astoria 04/02 K's Choice Interview 04/02 Leaves - Live - Camden Dingwall 04/02 Longwave Interview - Exit 04/02 Lucy Mongrel Interview 04/02 Oasis - The Hindu Times 04/02 Phantom Planet - Interview 04/02 Unwritten Law - Interview 04/02 VUE - Coordinates Interview 05/02 BRMC - LIve - Kentish Town, London 05/02 Breeders - Title K 05/02 FC Kahuna - Machine Says Yes 05/02 Moco - Live - London Monarch 05/02 Need New Body - Interview 05/02 The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Live - Soundhause, Northampton 05/02 The Bellrays - Meet The Bellrays 06/02 Fleadh Festival - Finsbury Park 06/02 Frou Frou Coordinates Interview 06/02 Incubus - Interview - Mark Einziger 06/02 North Mississippi Allstars - Interview 06/02 Papa Roach - She Loves Me Not 06/02 Proud Mary - Live - Northampton, Soundhaus 06/02 Pulp - Live - Sherwood Pines, Edwinstowe 06/02 Reindeer section - You Are My Joy 06/02 Silverchair - Diorama 06/02 Something Corporate - Leaving Through The Window 06/02 Soinc Youth - Interview 06/02 The Burn - The Smiling Face 06/02 The Coral - Live - Roadmender, Northampton 06/02 The LIbertines - Live - The Social, Nottingham 06/02 The Vines, Sheffield Leadmill 06/02 Trik Turner - Interview 06/02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Live, Soundhaus, Northampton 07/02 12 Stones Interview 07/02 Arolo -Interview 07/02 Buy To Let Doncaster - Anti Social Behaviour 07/02 Cassius - Interview 07/02 Farrah - Interview 07/02 Glassjaw - Interview 07/02 Neil Michael Haggerty - Interview 07/02 Hoobastank - Running Away 07/02 Leaves - Interview 07/02 LL Cool Jay Interview 07/02 Oasis - Live - Finsbury Park, London 07/02 Polyphonic Spree - Live - Camden Monarch 07/02 Queens of the Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf 07/02 Super Furry Animals - Interview 07/02 The Beatings - Live - Metro Club London 07/02 The Bellrays + The D4 - Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street London January 2001 July - August 2001 September - October 2001 November - December 2001 January - March 2002 April - July 2002 August - December 2002