Music
Press
The Leap Year somehow manage to be both slow and mainly minor while also being very engrossing. Only a new band to Perth, but formerly old Melbourne band Minor Ache, they play with confidence and a lot of wry humour. They also play with power belying the relaxed strumming speed of all three non-drummers, and ardor belying their self-deprecating remarks about each other and cancer. (“Cancer isn’t funny. It’s not good stand up material… which of course is why we’re all here.”) The might of their songs left the night with a bereaved glow and a strong urge to see them again. - www.messandnoise.com
The Leap Year are also one of those bands who totally understand themselves and the people they're playing to, and managed to present themselves perfectly from the Amps stage. Sitting on the more Interpol-loving side of indie (ie the slower, darker and moodier side) The Leap Year made great use of two main vocalists whose similarly gentle voices added to an overall ambience that remained even in more raucous songs. You'd have to ask someone more indie-savvy for accurate reference points, but to these ears there were elements of everything from Slint to Red House Painters in The Leap Year's sound, which ranged from easy listening to very difficult listening - though at all times appropriately so. - Xpress Magazine
Discography
- "Let it go let it go" single released July 2007.
- "This is a Setup" single released September 2007.
Both tracks stream on our myspace - www.myspace.com/theleapyearband.
- Single "The Rational Anthem released via Shifty Disco's download club in the UK in October 2007.
- Debut album "With a Little Push, A Pattern Appears" due in November 2007 through Hobbledehoy Records.
We get played on community radio like RTR FM, 2SER and RRR quite regularly.
Photos
Bio
The Leap Year are a band from Perth, Western Australia. They formed in 2006 and comprise of Rob Schifferli (Guitar/vocals), Martin Allcock (Guitar/vocals), Paul Haimes (Bass/vocals) and Chris Reimer (Drums).
The sound of the band has been described as "slow and mainly minor while also being very engrossing" by Mess and Noise, and been compared to Sunny Day Real Estate, ...Trail of Dead, The Life & Times and Slint, although they have quickly developed a sound that is their own, with three members sharing vocal duties.
In the past year, The Leap Year have played several shows around Perth and Fremantle, playing alongside some fine bands from Australia and overseas including Low, Batrider, Deloris and many more. They also played at the prestigious RTR FM festival "In the Pines". Recently, their song "Let it go, let it go" was nominated as a finalist for Western Australian Music Industry's Song of the Year contest for 2007.
In mid-2007, the band signed to Melbourne-based label Hobbledehoy Records. Their debut album "With a Little Push, a Pattern Appears" will be released in Australia and on iTunes in November 2007, and released in the USA in January 2008. It was recorded at Bergerk! Recording Studios by Al Smith, mixed by Simon Struthers (Adam Said Galore/Mukaizake/Umpire) and mastered by Bob Weston (Shellac/Mission of Burma) at Chicago Mastering Service. Two tracks from the album, "Let it go, let it go" and "This is a setup", have both already received substantial play on Australian community radio and the band's Myspace page. The band has started writing their second album and will tour nationally and internationally in 2008.
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