Leatherface- The Stormy Petrel

(No Idea Records, 2010)
Reviewed by SoDak

www.leatherface.biz

A record that starts, “God is dead,” instantly warms my heart and makes me pay attention. Frankie Stubbs, who sings and plays guitar, immediately follows this, stating, “better red than dead….Viva Chavez. Viva Allende.” The terse lyrics also note how absurd it is that wartime leaders receive the Nobel peace prize and how mainstream economists help fuck over the public. The song is rather simple, but direct, which is often the case with this band.

Leatherface is an English band and has been around since 1988. Unfortunately, it was only eight years ago that I finally gave them a listen. My friend, Captain Kluber, gave me a couple of their CDs, telling me that I would love this band. He had seen them play in the late 1990s, and it was one of the most emotional punk rock shows he had ever seen. Needless to say, I was quite curious. For days, I sat in front of the stereo, listening to these CDs, captivated by this band. The singer has a very rough voice, and it is hard to understand all the words. But his voice, once you get used to it, grabs your heart. It is not necessarily clear, without a lyric sheet, what is the focus of a particular song. Nonetheless, there is something so moving in the rise and fall of his voice and the heaviness that it embodies. I became obsessed with this band, desiring to share their music with others. One friend asked me who the singer of Leatherface sounded like. The best description that I could come up with was the following: if you added one part Lemmy from Motorhead and one part Jason Beebout from Samiam (or Blake from Jawbreaker) to a blender and processed it well, you would have Frankie Stubbs. The raspy, emotional growl is pretty fuckin’ catchy and makes Leatherface a unique band. They are not a bubble-gum punk rock band. But, damn, they write some great fuckin’ songs. Dickie Hammond and Frankie Stubbs provide great guitar lines, creating a wall of sound at times (reminiscent of Husker Du), as well as crisp, clear pop-punk songs. The bass and drums kick the songs in the ass, moving everything forward.

Leatherface has released many great records over the past twenty years. The Stormy Petrel is a solid record, and with every listen I am even more taken with this collection of twelve songs. The lyrics, at times, seem a little scattered, providing partial vignettes of someone confronting the alienation that is all too pervasive in the world. My favorite songs, so far, are “My World’s End,” “Never Say Goodbye,” “Nutcase,” “Broken,” “Another Dance,” and “Monkfish.”

“Never Say Goodbye” is about the passing of time and loss. “Broken” has the great line, “What is this thing I could’ve done, with a loaded gun, while you were pissing on my setting sun.” As is often the case with Leatherface, almost every song has a great chorus that makes me sing along, even when I am not quite sure what the words are. The lines to “Another Dance” pass by quickly, but then the chorus, anchors the song: “Send me on my way, have another dance, have another dance, have another dance on my grave.”

If you haven’t heard Leatherface, and you like punk rock and are open to introspective songs, pick up one of their records. I almost always have one of their records in the car when I am driving across the country. I love Frankie’s voice, as it creeps from the speakers in the car, keeping me awake and alert. My only hope is that we don’t have to wait half a decade, like we did this time, for another new record from this band