It’s been a while since I wrote about a featured distro record, but boy is today’s a doozy! From the moment I heard Video’s Leather Leather LP I fell instantly in love, and the dozens of listens I’ve logged over the past couple of weeks have just made this LP sink further and further into my brain. As of now, this is quickly coming to rival Total Control’s Henge Beat LP as my favorite long-player of 2011, which is no small achievement. While this has all of the songwriting genius of Total Control, it’s a fucking PUNK record through and through.
The first thing that laid its hooks into me with this record was the vocals. I’m pretty sure it’s the same guy who sings for Denton, TX’s Wax Museums. If you’ve heard that band the lyrics are completely absurd… I love that band, but one of my favorite songs by them is about being locked in the mall… not exactly the kind of thing you’d call your favorite band. Video, however, has all of the snottiness of the Wax Museums, but everything is just a little more straightforward. The lyrics are abstract but simple and fist-pump-ready… you’ll be screaming “Leather… LEATHER,” “we want the world” and “the hus-BAND!” by your second time spinning the record.
There’s so much more here aside from a few catchy choruses, though. The arrangements are just genius… the bass tends to drive everything, with the guitar occasionally dropping in to add a little extra punchiness, catchiness, or to take us on an extended wah-laden psych freakout. Perhaps the best example of this band’s ability to write a perfect song is the title track, “Leather Leather,” which pounds away with all of the immediacy of early Motley Crue, but way more punk:
Another favorite off the LP is “The Husband.” Every time this song starts I notice that the first four notes are the same as “Boredom” by the Buzzcocks, and the guitar sound is virtually exactly the same. After that creepy little intro, however, the song goes into some of the most hooky, rocked-out punk I’ve heard in years… when the song stops and it goes into that fucking HUGE chorus riff I lose my shit every time:
There’s actually a lot more to this LP than just riff-rockers, though. I mentioned Total Control at the beginning of this post, and there are actually musical similarities there as well. This is most apparent on the track “Red Pills,” which, aside from dealing with a similar lyrical theme to TC’s “Meds,” crawls along at a similarly creepy, claustrophobic pace as many of the best Total Control songs. However, Video can’t help but drop in one of those huge fucking choruses:
That’s just three of the twelve slices of brilliance that are on this record… if you’re intrigued I highly encourage you to pick up the LP… you won’t be disappointed. I’ve been raving about this to everyone who will listen, mostly because it’s good but also because it strikes me as the kind of sleeper hit that would normally sit collecting dust in the distro for six months until some fashionable blog writes about it, then it’s on EVERYONE’s want list. With only 500 pressed and some ridiculously expensive production costs (not only does this have gorgeous die-cut sleeves, but the whole thing was recorded to and mastered from tapes so it’s 100% analog), Leather Leather is bound to be the Secret Prostitutes LP or Sex/Vid 7″ of 2012. I highly encourage you to beat the rush and grab this brilliant fucking record NOW!
Great record. I completely agree with your review and your feeling that this record is going to be on many want lists in a very short time.
Here’s my take on this record, nowhere near as in depth as yours.,
http://unitedbyrocketscience.blogspot.com/2011/11/video-leather-leather-lp-play-pinball.html