Last Leaves - The World We Had

matda002  /  June 2017
Last Leaves - The World We Had
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Last Leaves - The World We Had

matda002  /  June 2017
Heralding the imminent arrival of the long-awaited debut album from Melbourne’s Last Leaves, first single 'The World We Had' is a gloriously fuzzy slice of guitar pop. Comprised of ex-Lucksmiths Marty Donald, Louis Richter and Mark Monnone with Noah Symons of Great Earthquake on drums, Last Leaves have put the finishing touches to their album 'Other Towns Than Ours' and launch it out of the blocks with the tautest, hook-laden track of the set. For all its immediacy, though, 'The World We Had' also packs an emotional punch. What begins as a fond reminiscence of a long-ago winter weekend away becomes a rueful reassessment of where things stand now. “I’m sure we were never so happy before,” asks the quietly devastating middle-eight, “but darling, don’t you think we could say the same for since?” As the outro crashes in — all jangling guitars, tambourines and woo-woos — the question posed earlier in wonder upon a lover’s first experience of snow (“the world we had— where did it go?”) is deftly reframed as a lament for a fading love. Produced by Melbourne-based UK producer Gareth Parton (The Go! Team, Big Scary, Foals), 'Other Towns Than Ours' is released in collaboration with the Lost And Lonesome Recording Company of Australia.
Tracklisting:
  1. The World We Had

reviews

The cherished Australian indie-pop band the Lucksmiths dissolved in 2009, after 16 years of witty, melancholy, melodic songwriting and performing. A couple years after the band's end, the announcement came that three-fourths of the final lineup had a new band, Last Leaves. Fans have been patiently waiting the past five or so years for music from Last Leaves beyond a couple demos lead singer/songwriter Marty Donald posted online years ago. The time has come. "The World We Had" is the first single off their upcoming debut album, and it's a beauty. A romantic weekend is fondly recalled, but can those memories be trusted? What they had is gone, and where did it go? All that's left is a feeling of loss, tinged with wisps of remembered beauty and tenderness, all wrapped up in loud guitars and harmonies. --PopMatters

Australian indie titans The Lucksmiths delivered their final album (First Frost) back in 2008; now key members have delivered a fresh track under their Last Leaves project. This alone is cause for celebration; the ironic alliterative twist is merely frosting on the sonic cake. (How fitting that one band’s final album includes the word first while the new project includes last.) Even if you aren’t familiar with The Lucksmiths, you have plenty to love in “The World We Had.” This is a song for modern times. Its warm melodies echo ‘90s-era Britpop; the lyrics capture our collective frustration about global affairs. The repeated refrain of “The world we had / where did it go?” is one we can all understand. Whether you find yourself looking back at a former relationship or just a happier time when life didn’t seem so upside down, this song is instantly relatable. --The Revue

I was just saying how much I miss the Lucksmiths when lo and behold here’s a brand new video from three-quarters of them. Last Leaves has been teasing us with the possibility of new music for years now, but this is the first we’ve heard about a full album. Marty Donald, Mark Monnone, and Louis Richter recruited drummer Noah Symons and recorded Other Towns Than Ours in their fancy treehouse in Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges where this video was filmed. The song sounds lovely. A little beefier than the Luckies with crunchier guitars and heavier drums. And Donald’s voice isn’t as “pretty” as Tali White’s, so the overall vibe is less twee and more rock and roll. I’ve listened to this at least 30 times in a row now and it continues to reveal its charms. Gone are the signature puns and clever wordplay, but that doesn’t mean they won’t turn aphrase to conjure up emotions. I can’t wait to hear the album. Autumn is the perfect time for this type of music. --Glorious Noise

Aussie combo Last Leaves, apparently last seen shacked up in the Dandenongs, feature a few names you’ll know, and who have starred in bands that we’ve penned eager words on over past decades, but I think it’s probably sufficient to let their music do most of the talking. The LLs recently announced their presence via a terrific contribution to Matinée’s “Matinee Idols” v/a comp, a swashbuckling belter of an indie pop song called “Something Falls” whose urgency and plaintiveness reminded us a soupcon of Hate Week’s near-flawless single last year, even if it drew back from the latter’s charmingly unsculpted chaos. This second Last Leaves song to hit our ears is “The World We Had”, a single on Melbourne’s Lost & Lonesome Recording Co, and it proves their upcoming album is going to be well worth looking out for, being an aquaplaning jumble of jangling guitars and erudite musicianship that knows just how to balance the sadnesses of growing older with the joy and vitality of modern, unashamedly in-yer-face pop music. --In Love With These Times, In Spite Of These Times