Berlin based band “Leep” released their new wistful 4-song EP called “Patience” along with a physical vinyl release. Songs that are built in its name, slowly stepping from one procession to another, it leaves the listener yearning for what comes next, questioning how the story continues. The whole release feels as somber as a funeral, starting off slowly with the six and a half minute long “Rails”, which builds up to the repeated line shouted by all members, “no redos, this is it” before falling to what feels like six feet under the dirt and ending.
Masterfully engineered and mixed by Andreas Sommer, the cymbals make these songs sound like rain
accompanying the sadness expressed in all the instrumentals and lyrics. The second song, “Ocean” continues this repititious build up, full of pain and regret, this time repeating “its all on
me” as if guilt has swallowed the speaker whole, before questioning a relationship’s end and who
is really to blame, repeating, “its always the same with you, you never change”. The way these songs progress feels like a tidal wave, pushing you through the emotions the band reveals with each step. It is way too easy to get caught in the current these songs have, sucking the listener in like a riptide just to crash back down to the shore with pure emotional intensity. Side B of the vinyl starts off with my favorite song, “August”, which has a bit of a faster pace, but being just as patient to give you the full effect.
The dynamics pulled off in this EP can only be done by a group of people that all have a great chemistry with one another and truly understand the theme that the music is going for, and it is clear that Leep have that. Through all the odd time signatures and their changes,
they are in lock-step to deliver these songs with the intensity they deserve. Closing out the EP with the song “Noise”, it takes on more of a instrumental role. The last lyrics said on the whole EP are, “your silence is not innocent, with wrecking balls as carry on”, leaving the listener to deal with their emotions while being battered by pure musicianship for another minute and a half. This EP could easily be tossed into a pool with names of 90s post hardcore legends Drive Like Jehu, Slint, Unwound, among other untethered emotional rock bands that tell their
story and leave you feeling as if you were there too.
