The Leathers

.....and Ottawa neighbours and goodtime boys the Leathers made the crowd get wild with jackets, jazz hands and a Johnny Cash cover in the key of rap that fuckin’ killed...... - Montreal Mirror

This may be their first album together, but just one play through of Atherton & pbrain Are The Leathers and it’s no wonder why these two rappers would work together. Atherton and pbrain sound natural together. The sarcastic, self-deprecating subject matter and socio-political themes that Atherton displayed on his debut album with Sire also happens to be the forte of pbrain. Who knew? They kick a lot of fresh and unique concepts, too, as they demonstrate on ?Paul & Devin,? a look behind each of their aliases as the two rappers trade places to reveal the not-so-secret shames of the other. They also give their own twist to the psychiatrist-patient dialogue with Paul describing to Dr. Devin the despair of being an underground rapper on ?Hair Loss? and the two talk about their lack of success with women on ?Self Sabotage.? pbrain’s beats are also a nice match: catchy, but dusty, experimental and often as thick with samples as a Bomb Squad production. Sure, the duo open with a crisp and clean Fresh Kils production for ?Paul & Devin? and get glitchy over Bender Stratocaster on ?Heart Attack,? but it’s pbrain’s ?Bridge Breaks,? with it’s manipulated recorder taking center stage, and his Hawaiianizing of country music for ?Ramble Gamble? that are the standouts. Atherton & pbrain Are The Leathers may not enjoy much commercial appeal, but fans of The Big Three Emo S’s ? Sole, Sage and Slug ? should enjoy. [Thomas Quinlan]

Easy Tiger Records - Urbnet

.....From there I stumbled back to Sneaky Dee’s to catch the Leathers. Again, full disclosure: I went to see them semi-seriously, since Paul, one of the group’s two rappers, used to play bass in Arms to Illustrate, a now defunct post-hardcore band I saw countless times in my teenage years. He’s a good dude, even though he once threw a firecracker at my face when I was 16. That being said, the Leathers were fucking awesome. As expected, they gave off a bit the typical white-boy rap vibe, but instead of being super serious try-hards, rappers Atherton (Devon) and P-Brain (Paul) embraced their goofiness and ran with it. Not only that, but they lived up to their name, as Paul performed much of the set wearing a leather jacket before, after Devin complained about the heat, they finished things off donning matching leather vests. Performing with nothing but microphones and a MacBook, the gruesome twosome rapped about hugs and cowskin with surprising stage presence. Playfully shouting “NEW SHIT, DJ CLUE!” between songs and playing up to the crowd’s urge to dance until the night’s extended 4A.M. last call, it was clear that the Leathers are all about having fun and, as their music showed, not sucking. Check them out if it’s your thing, since I can’t think of any other hip-hop group with lyrics like these: My name is Paul, I like tattoos and stuff/I don’t often read books that aren’t cluttered with pictures/I’ve got big burly arms if you’re into warm hugs/I find bikes on the side of the road and I fix them [.....] my cinnamon beard will kiss your cute face..... - Sputnik Music

The Leathers worked the Sneaky Dee's crowd into a lather Friday night.

More blowout than show, the Montreal-based hip-hop duo of Atherton and P Brain -- clad in leather vests and jackets despite the Sneaky Dee's swelter -- rocked with a loose energy that went over very well with the preternaturally good-looking crowd.

Jokes about getting drunk at 14 on stolen Beaujolais, choreographed dance slides, and rogue DJ Clue references held together a slew of thumping tracks from the group's self-titled debut. FYI, they also did a shit-hot rap version of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire. - Now Magazine