John Lefler
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John Lefler

Dallas, Texas, United States | SELF

Dallas, Texas, United States | SELF
Band Rock Singer/Songwriter

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Show preview: John Lefler"

A quick scan of John Lefler's song titles reveals a serious sideman complex: "Hard Act to Follow," "Better Than You," "Afraid Anymore." But being the hired ax for uh-oh, Dashboard Confessional, is not as dire as it may seem: Dan Hoerner from Sunny Day Real Estate once took a turn, and Lefler put in a session with Old 97s' melodic genius, Rhett Miller. So Lefler's solo Better by Design may be power-pop boilerplate, but it's better than average boilerplate: think the Format clashing with Mercury Rev at its most Disneylike. The arrangement of "Hard Act to Follow" suggests a Dr. Dog pimped out by Jon Brion, and "Better Than You" tumbles like the Turtles' "Happy Together." If that's unexpected from an emo second-stringer, then, well, another title is "Up My Sleeve." - SF Weekly


"John Lefler - Better By Design"

By day, John Lefler makes his beans as guitarist/keyboardist in indie darlings Dashboard Confessional. After hours, his "inner popper" emerges, and he's busy creating some of the sweetest pop you'll ever want to hear! His solo debut was expertly produced by Salim Nourallah (certainly no stranger to folks here), who is quickly becoming one of our favorite producers (Old 97's, Rhett Miller, et al)! This one's solid from start to finish - there's not a bad tune in the batch here folks! - Kool Kat Music


"Right to the head of the class for Best Of 2009"

Right to the head of the class for Best Of 2009 - so that be a cue that you should spend a little time and listen to the samples below. Lefler comes from left field -- he`s been a hired gun for Dashboard Confessional as their lead guitarist for years but the quality of the work here on "Better By Design" excels way over of what we hear from his paycheck w/ DC. Earmarkings recall Jellyfish, Josh Fix, Fountains Of Wayne and Bryan Scary - and more.

Absolute Power Pop blog nails it, as usual: "Lefler touches all the power pop buttons here. "Dream Your Life Away" opens the disc with a Jellyfish-inspired track that could have come off Spilt Milk, with its British invasion melody, staccato guitar riffs and snare drums, all delivered with a certain joie de vivre that a power pop fan can almost innately pick up. There`s no dropoff next with the title track, with its insistent piano beat and McCartney-esque melody, and the sweet and jangly "Lucy" is 2:16 of pure ear candy. An opening trio like that is hard to follow, but Lefler hangs in there with several more gems. The midtempo rocker "Afraid Anymore" recalls both Fountains of Wayne and Cliff Hillis, "Hard Act to Follow" (hey, didn`t I just use that phrase?) is another `Fish-styled number with a quality guitar solo, and "Helplessly" is a pretty ballad that does a fine job of letting the listening catch his or her breath. The latter portion of the disc is rounded out with the file Sloan-styled "Better Than You", the bright rocker "Ordinary Guy", complete with "oh-oh-oh"s and a Matthew Sweet/Gin Blossoms sound, and the dreamy Lennonesque closer "Up My Sleeve". A stunning debut from Mr. Lefler, and one I can see in a lot of power poppers` top 10 lists come year`s end.".

"Unlike Dashboard frontman Chris Carrabba, Lefler aims for power pop instead of acoustic ballads. With infectious tracks influenced by the likes of the The Beatles, The Beach Boys or The Zombies it makes for a perfect summer sound. It is a very engaging and charming record through out. The sound is far from `solo`, with a multi-instrumental mix mostly done by Lefler himself. " - Examiner.com. HUGELY Recommended!! - Not Lame


"CD of the Day, 6/18/09: John Lefler-Better by Design"

It often seems like every indie band has a sideman who's a power popper at heart, and behind the emo stylings of Chris Carrabba and Dashboard Confessional lies DC's guitarist/pianist John Lefler, who's put out one of the more impressive power pop debuts with his solo album Better by Design and has an instant contender for album of the year here.

Lefler touches all the power pop buttons here. "Dream Your Life Away" opens the disc with a Jellyfish-inspired track that could have come off Spilt Milk, with its British invasion melody, staccato guitar riffs and snare drums, all delivered with a certain joie de vivre that a power pop fan can almost innately pick up. There's no dropoff next with the title track, with its insistent piano beat and McCartney-esque melody, and the sweet and jangly "Lucy" is 2:16 of pure ear candy.

An opening trio like that is hard to follow, but Lefler hangs in there with several more gems. The midtempo rocker "Afraid Anymore" recalls both Fountains of Wayne and Cliff Hillis, "Hard Act to Follow" (hey, didn't I just use that phrase?) is another 'Fish-styled number with a quality guitar solo, and "Helplessly" is a pretty ballad that does a fine job of letting the listening catch his or her breath.

The latter portion of the disc is rounded out with the file Sloan-styled "Better Than You", the bright rocker "Ordinary Guy", complete with "oh-oh-oh"s and a Matthew Sweet/Gin Blossoms sound, and the dreamy Lennonesque closer "Up My Sleeve". A stunning debut from Mr. Lefler, and one I can see in a lot of power poppers' top 10 lists come year's end. - Absolute Powerpop


Discography

CD: Better By Design

Photos

Bio

Texas singer/songwriter, and member of Dashboard Confessional since early 2002. Though I still play with DC, in 2009 I broke out and self-released my first solo record, "Better By Design." Since then, I've traveled the country twice with just my guitar, doing solo shows. My next run will be opening for Dashboard on our Nov/Dec East Coast 10th Anniversary Tour.