ALBUM REVIEW: Fiesta – Leatherette

We are pleased to introduce the debut album from Italian post-punk band LEATHERETTE: Fiesta. In their own words, the band are “five shy guys who sometimes get off the stage and punch people,” and with their fusion of pure noise, distorted melodies and, most interesting of all, a saxophone player amongst the line-up, what we have here is a unique twist in the usual style and sound of emerging bands within the scene.

Opening with a fast upbeat intro recorded in a rough style as opposed to being properly polished is reminiscent of the early days of rock bands, and that’s what we get in Come Clean as its intro featuring drum tapping feels like the build-up to an epic breakdown around the chorus. But you wait… and nothing happens. Don’t get us wrong, it’s still an entertaining song but with that and the rather whiny vocals it’s not the most satisfying track. Not the best way to open a debut record.

Luckily things do pick up with So Long, a track that begins with a sci-fi intro like that of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’s Planetary (Go!) before switching to a guitar-driven track that will transport you to a British summertime festival where you’re sat with friends, drinking some beer as the likes of THE COURTEENERS and TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB play in the background. Dead Wall is where we see the jazz influences come through as we hear saxophone for the first time. On first listen, with little clue about the line-up, this might throw you off as you wonder where on earth it came from. But you embrace it. You love it. In a short summary this is a record full of loud, brilliant noise.

Throughout the album you can hear a range of influences from PVRIS and THE 1975 in Cut, to BOSTON MANOR in Fly Solo, to KAISER CHIEFS (mashed with trumpets, jazz, and demonic voices) in the title track. We have a funk style in songs like Thin Ice and No Way which make you want to shimmy all your problems away. Well, before the sudden distorted rock kicks in and brings you out of that trance.

This album is all the punk without the brash of it; instead of your standard shouty vocals and guitar riffs and heavy bass and drums we have jazz and chillness. It goes in a completely different direction than one might expect and keeps you on your toes with constantly different sounds and genre switches, which makes it quite brilliant.

Rating: 7/10

Fiesta is out now via Bronson Recordings.

Follow LEATHERETTE on Bandcamp.