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"Somewhere in the elastic universe of speculative ontology a troupe of well-mannered Euros saw the June 1st, 1974 concert in London, took this sole germ back to the serene Swiss Alps (birthplace of LSD) and fecundated it with honesty - like some lifelong lysergic therapy session - until they emerged saturated with colors no one knows the name of, dripping of colors that sound like motions known solely to them. And now they've invited the rest of the world to hear. Upon first listen I was reminded of how exciting those Jeffrey Novak solo albums were - delicate pop music accessible to us, uh... malcontents. Providing the mids between Eno's highs and Ayers' lows, it's a stunning display of both art and artisanship, and like a kid who aces his test without studying, it seamlessly incorporates the crisp aural aesthetic of Chrome and layered nonchalance of Velvet Underground without stepping into the gated communities of those bands' wannabees. Echoes of Morton, Cale, Barrett... a madcap laughing, white heat from warm jets in the eyeball of hell... And yet, it sounds only like Leopardo. Make sure you listen to it seven times in a row like I did."
-Brandon Gaffney
Our take: Feel It Records digs into the worldwide underground again, sifting out Switzerland’s Leopardo from the silt. Aside from some Germanic accents, Leopardo doesn’t sync up with my limited knowledge of Swiss music (i.e. they don’t sound anything like Celtic Frost or Kleenex). Instead, they sound like they could have come straight from early 80s New Zealand. Like my favorite Kiwi pop, Malcantone seems grounded in the Velvet Underground’s subversive pop music, is aggressively eclectic (one track here is a solo banjo instrumental), heavily layered, and occasionally might get a little too saccharine for some tastes. Aside from the Velvets, I feel a noticeable Beatles influence coming through in parts of Malcantone, particularly the twee psych elements of Sgt. Pepper’s. It’s a similar mix of styles as the most 60s-influenced contemporary Australian bands, particularly Parsnip and Hierophants, and if you’re a fan of those records, you’ll love Leopardo. The packaging here is also up to Feel It’s usual high standard, with a beautiful gatefold jacket and detail-oriented design that provides enriching 3-dimensional accompaniment to Leopardo’s rich sonic world-building.
-Brandon Gaffney
Our take: Feel It Records digs into the worldwide underground again, sifting out Switzerland’s Leopardo from the silt. Aside from some Germanic accents, Leopardo doesn’t sync up with my limited knowledge of Swiss music (i.e. they don’t sound anything like Celtic Frost or Kleenex). Instead, they sound like they could have come straight from early 80s New Zealand. Like my favorite Kiwi pop, Malcantone seems grounded in the Velvet Underground’s subversive pop music, is aggressively eclectic (one track here is a solo banjo instrumental), heavily layered, and occasionally might get a little too saccharine for some tastes. Aside from the Velvets, I feel a noticeable Beatles influence coming through in parts of Malcantone, particularly the twee psych elements of Sgt. Pepper’s. It’s a similar mix of styles as the most 60s-influenced contemporary Australian bands, particularly Parsnip and Hierophants, and if you’re a fan of those records, you’ll love Leopardo. The packaging here is also up to Feel It’s usual high standard, with a beautiful gatefold jacket and detail-oriented design that provides enriching 3-dimensional accompaniment to Leopardo’s rich sonic world-building.