Leatherface – Dog Disco

Before Dillinger Four, Hot Water Music and Avail, there was Leatherface. A small, independent punk band from Sunderland, England. The now three piece punk rock band just released their latest album,Dog Disco on BYO Records; and the thirty minute album does practically nothing to disappoint you.

As soon as you press play and the disc starts spinning in your CD player, you are blown away. The intense multi-layered riffs of Hoodlum grab your attention immediately, twenty seconds into it, lead vocalistFrankie Stubbs comes in with his harsh, gruff voice that makes the group standout. Your first impression may be the same as mine was: the vocals are too laid back, too soft, too hard to make out; they don’t stand out and get smothered out by the guitar work. This, at first, is annoying. But after spinning the disc a few times, his husky voice grows on you; and you realize that the music is the main focus of this group. The guitars are loud, and you want to have the bass of your player turned down to really hear it; but the guitar work is intricate and never constant. They can play it fast and loud like in Eggbound, or smooth and captivating like in Hoodlum, or even slow it down to a ballard-like song with Plastic Surgery. The aforementioned track steals the show of the album quite simply because it takes you by full surprise. You are sitting through a hard rocking set of songs and then BAM! Suddenly you get a slow, melodic, sing along song topped off with Stubb’s unique English accent and it opens your eyes to the fact that the band is able to bring something more to the table.

Leatherface brings something needed to the punk rock scene. Some maturity and something different from what everyone else is making these days. A plus, its great to see a band from my second hometown making such great albums like this one.