Sometimes something comes across ye olde digital desk… okay, who are we kidding? A lot of times something comes across ye olde digital desk and we’re completely taken aback. Because we love music. And we love being exposed to new sounds. Leah Callahan makes the kinds of “new sounds” that take us “aback” and hopefully if you give latest record, Our Lady of the Sad Adventure, a try then you might be as well!
If you were looking for a Local comparison then Mistle Thrush or Arrows of Athena come to mind and on a grander scale, The Cranberries. Beyond that, Our Lady of the Sad Adventure is its’ own thing that takes bits and pieces of Alternative and New Wave and Post-Punk and Goth and… just basically all the genres we really dig, then mashes it together as you would while making a meatloaf and cooks up something fanciful for your earholes to feast on. Trust us, it all makes sense when you listen.
“Fall in Love with Your Mind” is pretty epic as a start, reminiscent of some of The Cure’s more gargantuan openers (“Plainsong” off Disintegration comes to mind) with just this flood of sound coming at listeners as Ben Polito’s drumming drives the track along and Callahan’s ethereal delivery here moves powerfully in and out of the foreground. “Driving” also dwells in a land juxtaposed between ’80’s Goth Rawk and ’90’s Alternative with Callahan’s sweeping voice freely flowing while multi-instrumentalist Chris Stern keeps things interesting with the diverging Bass and Guitar lines. “Devil May Care” is more dense with glistening harmonies weaving around until a very Post-Punk mindset takes hold for the aptly titled “New Punk”.
“Our Lady of the Sad Adventure” is like Goth Duran Duran complete with John Taylor-esque Bass tones and shimmering Guitar lines from Stern with Callahan at the helm tying it all together through a haunting vocal performance, “Clouds” has airs of Stevie Nicks about it with that ’80’s mysticism hovering about and “About You” is an ornate aural experience with a steady rhythm section on one end of the spectrum and Guitar tones that tremble and trickle while others bang out blissful and broad melodies on the other end.
“Irish Goodbye” sounds like that closing track after some hopeful declaration in a film yet to be made, cinematic in scope and akin to U2 at their most picturesque and then those strings kick in (Jeremy Fortier adds Viola throughout OLotSA) and it’s like you’re instantly transported to the cliffs of Ireland. Getting toward the end, “Miss Me” is driving, bringing to mind a bevy of ’90’s Alternative classics with “I Remember” (Written by Molly Drake) serving as the perfect finale as Callahan’s playful melodies pounce off a Psychedelia-ensconced Punk lite backdrop.
Our Lady of the Sad Adventure is out now and you can find the version that suits you the best by heading here or to the stream below. For more from Leah Callahan, head towards the socials located across the information superhighway and conveniently collected separately here, here and here.