LEAFLET – Something Beyond (2023)
“Something Beyond” is the second album from Finland’s LEAFLET, a young band showing that true rock music is alive and pumping. The album is full of catchy metal / hard rock tunes that would fit perfectly in your classic rock collection, updated in sound & production.
This four-piece infuse to their music an American style modern hard rock sound with Scandinavian nuances. It’s often a challenge to take influences from the past to remain relevant in an ever-evolving music market – these gentlemen sprinkle in guitar-driven material with the right soulful, passionate vocal melodies/harmonies that keep people moving along, taking the energy of the 80’s/early 90’s into the current century.
The electricity pulsating from the main chord progressions and complementary clean/aggressive transitions of Jaakko Leaflet and Antti Kallio sends immediate earworms to the brain on first exposure for “Earth” or the heads down, dirty rocker “Shades of Black”. The steady rhythm section duties of bassist Fabian Korsström and drummer Pekka Jokela fill the foundation as steady as necessary – throwing down little fills or additional hooks to make “Gonna Do It” and the groovy “Someone Somewhere” intoxicating toe-tappers.
Stronger background vocal support from the band allows for deeper chorus affiliations – traversing the sleaze/modern hard rock angles on the commercial-oriented “Resonate” while possessing a bit of that Scandinavian touch on the thoughtful, bouncy “Johnny Two-Face”.
The versatility of tracks is an ideal selling point, brought home by the magnetic voice of Jaakko as the main vocalist – he can be smooth or restrained as in the opening verse for “Alone-Alive” while executing a primal, psychedelic-driven aura on the already talked about “Shades of Black”.
Closer “Something Beyond” could be a difference maker – the cultural, Celtic-oriented harmonies plus acoustic to electric riffs possess a bit of that Finnish melancholy, Jaakko giving his all in engaging melodies while the lead breaks set ears to stun mode.
Together at this point for a decade, Leaflet may seem on the surface to be a very basic heavy/hard rock-oriented band – yet ”Something Beyond” has that extra depth of multi-generational appeal through dynamic compositions, solid focus, and that alluring vocal harmony component.
A hidden little gem waiting for more consumers to join the brigade.
Highly Recommended
01 – Gonna Do It
02 – Resonate
03 – Alone/Alive
04 – Earth
05 – Johnny Two-Face
06 – Tattoos of Life
07 – Shades of Black
08 – Someone Somewhere
09 – Something Beyond
Jaakko Leaflet – vocals, guitar
Antti Kallio – guitar
Fabian Korsström – bass, vocals
Pekka Jokela – drums
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