The Leisure Society – The Sleeper
Musical trends come and go but the one staple that remains is that
regardless of arrangement, the human voice has the ability to connect
with an audience. Beautiful voices and glorious harmonies will always
find a place in people’s hearts and record collections. The collective
known as The Leisure Society know this adage well and their album, The
Sleeper is filled with moments of transcendent vocal beauty.
Most of the songs feature a lush background of acoustic instrumentation
or low volume electrics that fall on the side of unobtrusive but
perfectly buttress the vocals that float on the top. Bandleader Nick
Hemming has surrounded himself with musicians that surrender their
individual egos to the common good and as such the songs all have a
consistency that borders on telepathic.
The group also features a number of multi-instrumentalists in its ranks
and this gives them the ability to add a lot of fine details in the
background that might not be immediately apparent. This sets up the
opportunity to reward listeners with each new listen.
The Sleeper is an impressive work and one that is supplemented by the
addition of a bonus eight track EP that includes a wonderful cover of
Gary Numan’s song Cars. Who would have thought any artist could make
that cold and detached track sound so light-hearted and inviting? Rob Hudson www.theleisuresociety.co.uk orwww.myspace.com/theleisuresociety
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