Signed to discerningly hip label Sink & Stove Records (who've already brought us funky contenders such as The Playwrights and The Organ), Bristol's LEAVE LAND FOR WATER are adroitly avoiding the genre pigeonholes with the deliciously enigmatic eponymously-titled EP.
And, with appetite suitably whetted, W&H couldn't resist the opportunity to discover more about this exciting band, so felt a call to LLFW's HQ was in order, where guitarist/ vocalist LUCAS very kindly filled in some of the details about the band's raison d'etre, why they enjoy embracing an eclectic variety of sonic influences and why they have an ongoing love/hate relationship with Coldplay.
Lucas is a lovely chap, slightly shy, easy to speak with and always considerate in his answers. He's gentle, attentive and deep-thinking and clearly believes in Leave Land For Water, which is of course how it should be. We begin with the obvious starting point, the band's self-titled EP which has only just been released as we speak. It's a diverse affair, ranging from straight-ish indie guitar workouts to wigged-out post-rock and enjoys the odd dub-like excursion too. Is the overall sound the sum of the band's influences then?
"Yeah...well it is in that we're five open-minded individuals," replies Lucas.
"It's often the case that we'll have a starting point for a song, then everyone gets hold of it and we'll see where it goes. We like to think it's a fairly democratic process, and I suppose we're quite like-minded in that four of us come very much from a guitar-based background, though that takes in everything from Nirvana to Slint and Mogwai. Tim (keyboards/ production/ effects etc) is more from rave culture, though, so he tends to bring the electronica-based element. Soundwise, he maybe hears things a little differently and that's great, it's very healthy."
Right. But then you're from a city which has been big on breaking musical moulds and striking out on its' own in the past anyway. After all, any city that can boast names like The Pop Group, Massive Attack and Portishead is definitely doing something right. But do Leave Land For Water feel attached to this lineage in any tangible way?
"No, not really," Lucas considers.
"I mean, we'd certainly respect people like that and we have certainly liked music from Bristol in the past, plus more recently people like Gravenhurst and Chikinki. But we're really concerned with doing our own thing first and foremost. I think we certainly feel a spiritual kinship in the sense that artists like Tricky, Massive Attack etc certainly made no attempt to fit in with trends and we're totally in tune with that attitude."
You're working with Sink & Stove, who are themselves keen to promote eclecticism with bands like The Playwrights and The Organ as well as yourselves. Do they give you complete artistic control?
"Yeah, very much so," says Lucas positively.
"We've known Ben (label honcho) for some time, and he's known about my work since my Boy Lucas days (prior to Leave Land For Water - ed). We gave Ben some our early demos and he liked them alright, he was into it, but the more he heard us the keener he got, it seemed. He's keen for us to do as much live work as we can, too, which is good because we need more experience in that area."
You've kind've pre-empted my next question, because I was about to ask whether your music is easy to reproduce live? It sounds layered and quite complex to me...
"Well it's not always easy, not," Lucas admits.
"We spend a ot of time homing our sound and sometimes we've been out live and not had our own soundman, which can be a bit of a nightmare to be honest. I mean, most soundmen struggle if it's not always obviously guitar-based stuff and some of our music isn't. Plus, we split the vocal signal between Tim and myself - Tim applies things via a sound box - so sometimes it's tough to get the finer points over live."
"There again, we have some songs, like "The Cinders Spread" from the EP, which are more straightforward and guitar-based and they're usually very powerful live, so it depends really. In any case, we accept we're a different proposition live and we don't want to just replicate the sound of the EP. I remember the first time I saw Fridge live they were a bit disappointing because they just sounded exactly like the record. I've seen them since and they were amazing, though, so y'know...it's intuition and experience really."
Musically, the band are very tasteful and complement each other well. Like most of the great Bristol bands, you also have a great drummer in Simon. Would he mind the Jaki Leibezeit (Can's drummer - ed) comparison I used in my EP review?
"No, he was well stoked by that!" Lucas laughs. "You're right, he is really tight and he really holds us together and keeps us on track live. His drumming is really dynamic. I'm glad you picked up on the democratic element of the band, though, that's cool because it is like that. I might be the singer and guitarist, but we really don't have an obvious leader. Everyone is involved in the writing process in a big way."
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I find I don't have an obvious favourite track from the Ep - or at least it's always changing. I like "Dead Museum" a lot, though, with the waves of feedback and an almost dub-like air of menace in the background. Is there a specific inspiration behind that one?
"It's actually a really old track," Lucas confides.
"It's got that guitar and bass thing in 3/4 time and an old casio keyboard sound. A lot of it comes from (guitarist) Oli, plus we wanted to leave more space on that one, quite deliberately. Sometimes there's a conscious decision about how a track should sound, and it was very clearcut with "Dead Museum". It's a very good example of us all contributing parts to a greater whole. It's great when that sort of thing works out."
The EP also features the KING SEVEN remix of "Dead Museum", which I actually really like because it introduces Leave Land For Water to the dancefloor very credibly. It proves your music translates well in this area, but would you like to do more of this sort of thing in the future?
"I always felt it translated well too!" enthuses Lucas.
"It's really divided people actually, though I really like it myself. I really like the idea of remixing our stuff and I've actually done some remixes for DJ Vadim, which I really enjoyed too. I remember I was totally into that Mogwai remixes album, "Mogwai Vs.Satan" and I personally would love to explore far more in that area."
Another thing that struck me about the EP was the sound of your voice. I like the fragility of it: that really appeals to me. What do you feel about your singing and what do you make of some the Chris Martin comparisons that have cropped up in a few reviews?
"Mmm, it's a little bizarre," says Lucas cautiously.
"We have something of a love/hate relationship with Coldplay in Leave Land For Water. Our drummer Simon absolutely loves them. I think they're OK, so I would take the comparison as a compliment. There gain, I've also had comparisons with Nick Drake and that's a lot more to my liking. As far as confidence goes, though, if I really COULD sing like Chris Martin, then that would be wonderful!"
Well, you never know what can come with practice, Lucas. But finally, tell us a little about the EP'S packaging. For the uninitiated, the "Leave Land For Water" EP comes wrapped in a gatefold package featuring an image of a dead fly in the foreground. It's simple and yet sinister all at once and certainly makes you want to discover what the contents sound like. How did you decide on it?
"Yeah, I agree it's a striking image," Lucas replies.
"Andrew Kemp, the guy who took the shot is a photographer friend of ours and he used to do 360 degree pinhole shots without any trickery and I loved what he could achieve with that. Plus, we wanted to bring in some ideas from someone outside of the band when it came to packaging the record."
"It complemented the sound a bit, maybe. It gives us a slightly dusty, edgy sort of finish and it makes you think. We like the idea of making people think, provoke them a bit. It's important not to make all this too obvious, isn't it?"
Wise words, Lucas. Intelligence goes a long way, and Leave Land For Water clearly have plenty to draw on. Theirs is an elusive, ingenious sound that should appeal to indie kids and hardened post-rockers alike and bodes well for what could well be a creatively fruitful future. Give them some time and space and they'll reap a rich sonic harvest.
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