Adam Leonard
Leonardism LP
Most people go through life trying to push themselves, and finding new and exciting things. We do this, not only to make our range of interests more diverse but to gain knowledge and understanding of different opinions. Well, I had hoped this is what a lot of people do.
Adam Leonard seems to take this push for new interests a little too far. Leonardism is a collection of DIY singles and EPs dating from 2002-2004. With its material taking aspects from a multitude of different areas it seems to bounce from one influence to another without really hitting a target.
Taking into account it isn’t a structured album, it’s obvious Adam Leonard hasn’t thought about this collection of songs as a mould, but rather a sporadic mixture of titles that he seemed good enough to throw onto a record. On the one hand, he is correct; every now and then a song with an interesting hook will keep you listening, but far too often his songs drift by without you remembering what had happened.
For the best part of the record, an acoustic guitar will casually set a chilled-out tone. Where this can be a good touch it usually finds itself attached to a forced effort to sound different or weird. And it proves more successful when Leonard sticks to what he knows best, using influences such as The Doors, where on ‘Pass Through Groves’ he seems to hit a point in the album where he has found his feet.
It seems here that Adam Leonard is trying too hard to be something he isn’t. For a batch of songs that have been produced over the span of two years, you would have thought that they blended together on a larger scale but unfortunately, they seem to drift away from one another like a badly planned balloon race. Bands that have created a new sound haven’t forced what they play, it all comes naturally and on top of this, they haven’t tried to name it after themselves.
Leonardism is in some places a good listen but largely a direction in music that doesn’t suit its author.
Guest article from Matt C.
Written by Guest Writers on
