Leaves

With soaring falsettos over guitars that border on shoegazer, you'd swear this Icelandic group was British. Sure, they share elements of their sound with such Brit rock bands as the Verve and Starsailor, but the Leaves' melodic, scorching beauties ("I Go Down," "We," "Race," "Catch") transcend the "sounds like" tag.

On their debut full-length, Breathe, the Icelandic trio Leaves eloquently represent the half
light/half dark atmosphere of their homeland -- even if they do sound alarmingly British in
the process. Breathe diligently follows the Coldplay/Radiohead/Doves method of music,
unafraid to have emotional content while managing to retain an infectiously classic
songwriting style. There is, however, a welcome familiarity ("Suppose") and mor... More >