A Visceral Burst Overlooked – A Reflection of Leathermouth’s ‘XO’
I’ve been in a bit of a dry spell of late. The words haven’t been coming as clearly as I have wanted and I needed this feeling to be purged. A brief trip down memory lane with XO, Leathermouth’s first and only LP to date, gave me the catharsis required.
The LP opens with ‘5th Period Massacre’, and immediately sets the tone. This is done lyrically through the perspective of a school-shooting murderer. I know right, dark. You can’t doubt the artistic licence however, as the lyrics are howled with petrifying sincerity over barkingly aggressive “riffage”.
The initial yells of, ‘REVENGE! REVENGE! REVENGE!’ leave a severely uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, that won’t quit. It’s violent, jarring and uncomfortable listening; a well painted picture of controversy.
And like I said, the tone setter.
Jumping ahead to track four and, ‘I Am Going To Kill The President Of The United States Of America’. Before, we start on this one, it’s worth mentioning that this track came with some hilarious repercussions. Apparently, some time after the LP’s release, the band were contacted by FED’s, who were a tad curious about the album’s title. Sounds about right.
This track brings the main hooks of the album. The main riff swings and convulses with brutal groove under lyrics that (you guessed it) are drenched in yanky Punk aggression. Give it a punt. I won’t blame you.
My final highlight is track six, ‘Sunsets are for Muggings’. The opening line has always kept me going back, then, re-listening to the album, I realised why:
‘This is for the kids who ain’t got no soul, never think twice, got nowhere to go! This is for the pills that never fucking work.
But it’s hard to see blood on a black t-shirt.’
It ain’t poetry, but God damn I remember this riling my teenage angst. An anthemic quick rush of testosterone with a hint of melancholy that will make you hunger for more.
Well then, if you want a sliver of this sharp piece it can be found in all your regular outlets. It’s a majestic splatter of murderous passion that needs to be heard, just make sure you’ve got the stones for it.
Why not track the album down, if you’re an honest man, you can purchase it from Amazon by clicking HERE.
#StayFresh
