Single Review: Leafing – “Please Everyone”
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A pandemic is a strange and difficult time to launch any new creative project, but especially an indie band. However, artists continually surprised us in 2020 with their ability to create amazing art even in the most dire and desperate of circumstances, and it appears that trend will continue into 2021 if Leafing is any indication.
Leafing are a Brooklyn based mathy indie project made up of Dominic Green (he/him) on guitar and vocals, Sebastian Green (he/him) on drums, and Maggie Toth (they/them) on bass. They summon references to bands like Prawn, Great Grandpa, Palm, and TTNG, released their first single “Little Ball” in December, and upon first listen I was engrossed in their energetic sound and rhythmic vibe. Today, they released the 2nd single from the band’s upcoming self-titled debut album which will be released in full on January 29th. The new track, “Please Everyone”, is just as exciting and intriguing as their first, and shows once again what bands are capable of, even when recording in quarantine.
Take a listen to the track below, while you read up on some information from the band on the track, the record, and their plans in general.
From the band: “This album is about home and origins. It’s about leaving your home but still feeling hopelessly connected to it, while learning (and doing your best) to love the other places you end up living. Sebastian and I (Dominic) grew up on farmland in rural Central New York. Our desire to make music in a place with a tradition of musical experimentation and a concentration of artistic talent led us both to Brooklyn, where we met Maggie. A lot of the lyrics and sounds on the album are inspired by this move, and by the disorienting feeling of having a foot in two very different places. This juxtaposition, of building a life in a city while grasping at rural roots, has been a powerful artistic influence for me. This is the album I’ve wanted to write since the first few months I lived in New York City in 2013.
The three of us talked about playing shows and making this record the first time we got together to play informally, in July of 2019. I had a lot of “shells” of songs at that point, and Maggie and Sebastian helped write and arrange them into the full songs that are on the album. We only played two shows before covid forced us into quarantine, but they were so much fun that there was no question as to whether we’d keep working together on music through this weird and terrible time.
As the last song on the album, “Please Everyone” is kind of the poster child of this theme, where the duality of “what is home” comes together. It’s about doing your best to feel at home wherever you are, maybe by surrounding yourself with things that remind you of that place, but how eventually your understanding of what and where home actually is can become blurred.”
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You can preoder the album now on Leafing’s Bandcamp.
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Henderson //@HendoSlice
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