aaamusic | On 12, Apr 2011

Psychedelic indie rock? A bit passé to the in crowd, who are all listening to Afrobeat, but they’ve missed a sweet little trick with Some Kind Of Leader. ‘Changer’ is not by any means scaring the horses, and may not even be too psychedelic. However, what we do have is five minutes of reverb-drenched melancholy, the delicately nasal vocals and shimmering cymbal patter tethered to a framework of warm bass. The guitarwork is understated, filtered through a mist of echoes, but the melodies are simple and rather beautiful. The lyrics are thoughtful yet the delivery gives them momentum, as does the band’s ability to use tempo changes for mood. A high-pitched guitar solo twinkles behind the crooned middle eight, and the track doesn’t plunge into the familiar final chorus catharsis that emotional songs demand, but instead eases into an almost jazz-influenced instrumental fadeout, with the guitar becoming increasingly spectral until the song reaches its gently haunting conclusion.

You know those dream sequences in films where the protagonist is visited by the ghost of a loved one to be told something profound? ‘Changer’ is the musical equivalent. There’s something unsettling in its bittersweet undertones, but the whole thing is wrapped in a soft, gauzy atmosphere that leaves the listener not only assured that this mournful presence in the speakers is benign, but this five minutes is one you will feel compelled to visit again and again, until the phantom hand finally touches yours…

Author: Katie H-Halinski