The Persian Leaps were formed when singer and guitarist, Drew Forsberg doodled in his notebook during a Greek Archaeology class. He worked under than name for a number of years until he decided to assemble a full band in 2012 so his dream of performing music influenced by bands such as The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine could become a reality.
“Drive Drive Delay” is the sophomore release from the Minnesota based 3 piece and it builds upon the praise and acclaim of their debut, “Praise Elephants”.
Indie Rock and the fusion of Noise Pop is something that is currently soaring with popularity, especially in the UK amongst bands such as the Vaccines, Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys. The Persian Leaps obviously are from across the pond so they have peers such as Arcade Fire to compete with and also use as inspiration. With the influx of so many indie rock bands trying their hand at this sound, I believe its popularity could be its eventual downfall as a lot of bands doing this lack originality.
Fortunately, The Persian Leaps provide evidence that this is a genre that still has life in it yet as they have crafted a thoroughly pleasant listen.
I hear a lot of influence from Indie legends The Dismemberment Plan with the intricate guitar consistently weaved throughout every song on the EP. The quality of the guitar and the polished vocals are all down to Drew Forsberg who provides a stellar account of just how talented he is as a musician. As ever though, You cannot get by without a little help from friends and The Persian Leaps are no different as Drew’s sheer talent works along side two equally talented musicians; drummer, Michael McCloskey and bassist, Brad Hendrickson to form something that can only be described like a well tuned Corvette engine that once started is stylish, powerful and goes hand in hand with sunset drives along a boulevard(If you’re English like me though, the closest you’ll get to sunshine whilst driving on a boulevard will be driving around Great Yarmouth on a mediocre day but its the thought that counts!)
Drive Drive Delay is a solid and admirable release and one that I will definitely be coming back to. It has a real summer vibe to it and as it’s released in January whilst I’m walking to the shop getting absolutely soaked I shall take some comfort listening to The Persian Leaps and letting it take me away as I imagine that I’m the coolest person in America wearing Ray Bans and driving a classic Ford Mustang in the basking heat(oh a boy can dream eh?!).
So it’s a thorough round of applause for The Persian Leaps as they have crafted a nostalgic driven, cool-oozing and delightful EP that shows that the indie rock with Noise Pop fusion is still something that can be exciting and impressive.