Around New England, people usually imbibe in a coffee to start their day. Sometimes that isn’t enough though, sometimes people need something stronger. There are days when one shot of espresso won’t do the trick but perhaps two will do. Maybe it’s not what you need at all, and you have to take the crap life throws at you. That’s what gothic-leaning dream-pop group Leiko serve up with their debut album Double Shot Of Depresso. The Providence crew incorporates elements of pop and macabre to create an extraordinary sound that’ll take over the senses.
The quartet of frontwoman and guitarist Alexa Patnaude, guitarist Jackson Collins, bassist Becca Neveu, and drummer Jon Halmi fuse their peculiarities together to form an elegant array of unique sounds. On the making of the album, Patnaude says: “We recorded with a great friend and the mastermind frontman of Pixels, Andy Davis. After all of the fun was over, another Providence musician, Matt DeCosta, mastered it for us. We are very thankful to live in such a giving artistic community.”
Haunting and captivating, “Cosmos” has Patenaude crooning and when her and Neveu combine on vocals the harmonies are stunning. There’s also a somber tone that’s abundant until the latter half of the track when Patenaude unleashes a magnificent guitar riff. There’s a jazzy beat courtesy of Halmi in “Big Red” that sets the tone along with a flurry of groovy rhythms being present. As the track progresses, Patenaude’s guitar gets louder and more rigid. “Clementine” is the prime candidate for being the most likely trance inducing song on the album with symmetrical harmonies that’ll put the listener into a daze.
To ring in the release of Double Shot of Depresso, Leiko will be putting on a party at the Columbus Theatre tonight (July 8) with psychedelic space punks The Viennagram and new wave nerds Xr-Tabs. Give the record a listen via the band’s Bandcamp below.
