32 Leaves
Welcome To The Fall

THE REVIEW

Look who's back, the legendary Dimitri Molotov! Long time no see! Just kidding, no one knows me here, so let's stuff the DeServer with another review. Evidently, I've taken a pretty defined direction in my reviews, published at the rate of 2-3 per year, which is talking about unknown bands. This is a world that fascinates me, where people who don’t have millions of fans to please (something that guides many of the musical turns of more famous bands) or record labels to answer to, simply play good music, enjoying themselves and hoping someone ends up listening to them somehow, for lack of something better to do. This is what I'm doing more and more often, and the same reason why I'm at home this Saturday writing this review (also a bit of a headache, but it's secondary). So at least appreciate the effort, come on!

Anyway, back to the strictly musical discussion, this album was released by the so-called 32 Leaves in 2005, and for the first time among my reviews, it's not metal, but rather relaxed rock, an album discovered almost by chance and turned out to be really excellent, with all very enjoyable songs and little predictability. I'm talking about "Welcome To The Fall," the first of two full-length albums by the five Americans before "Panoramic" in 2009, perhaps a bit less original and varied than this one. Where to begin? I could analyze one song at a time, but I don't want to be unoriginal and varied either, so I'll just mention a few noteworthy episodes among these 11 (plus a short instrumental) songs, although I’ll end up naming almost all of them. As mentioned, indeed, they are almost all on the same level, but I think the first two stand out above the others: I'm referring to "Sudden Change," reworked from the first EP "Fik'shen," and "Blood On My Hands." A slightly hard rock sound emerges immediately, which creates an excellent contrast with the clean vocals of singer Greg Norris, a happy union between the most common of my nicknames and a surname that I think needs no further explanation. Practically a demigod. Although I'm joking a bit too much today, the singer of 32 Leaves still stands out with his particular voice, with a properly low tone that manages to reach a perfectly proportioned vocal range with the drive of the album. In short, the voice is not out of context, and this is much less obvious than it seems.

The rest of the band doesn't offer particular insights, but limits itself to making the various songs evidently different from one another, sometimes more and sometimes less: drummer Barrett Gardner demonstrates more than good technique, even if the role of the drummer almost always fascinates me due to my complete ignorance on the subject; the two guitarists Mike Chavez and Mike Lopez are similar not only in name but also in playing, and a real solo is noticeable, even if not excessively technical, only in "All Is Numb," another very beautiful song also released as a single; Aron Orosz, last but not least, on bass offers a first-class performance, audibly present in many of the tracks. I can talk (and I will) about "Your Lies," characterized by a calm background in which the drums stand out more: the chorus is very catchy, and is accompanied, like the rest of the album, by deep but not too much lyrics, but always poetic and appropriate to the cause. There's "Waiting," heavier than the others but still substantially in the same style; there's "Makeshift," not exceptional but definitely nice. But right after "All Is Numb," at number 11, we find the one that surprised me the most, especially after several listens, namely "Watching You Disappear." I really like the title, as well as the whole text, from which I quote the chorus (and if I feel like it afterward, I'll add a sample):

Face it

You're fading away from me

Face it

I'm used to it anyway

Watching you disappear...

Really beautiful, I wouldn't know if I would choose it as my favorite for the aforementioned reasons, but it's definitely one of the best, increasingly engaging as it progresses. It ends with the strange "Deep Breath," characterized by a decidedly evocative atmosphere and even a bit sensual, as suggested by the lyrics (but in this case, I won't spoil anything). Greg's seductive voice is accompanied by simple drum rhythms, sound effects distant from traditional instruments, and a fitting guitar riff, halfway between melody and melancholy, that supports the chorus.

So, we've reached the end, and between you and me, it's been nice returning to my fourth or fifth job after so long. My final judgment, debated until the end, I think it will indeed be 5 balls, my first 5, not only for the excellent performance but also as a sort of "encouragement," a term quite inappropriate considering that 32 Leaves disbanded in 2010, but giving me yet another confirmation that lesser-known bands are not so for lack of merit, but simply because they don't have the right support, a key element that increasingly determines the future of a young band.