by Bradi Breckman
“These aching bones, these two years at home, all these things I own, I think they’re plotting against me.” — Leon’s Getting Larger (“Oh the Places You’ll Go”)
After several years of live shows, singles and EPs, Manitoba band Leon’s Getting Larger released their first official album last fall. You Be Good Now is a collection of old and new tracks that combine aspects of alternative, rock, indie and emo genres into a cohesive sound. The album features a mix of short and long songs which, when listened to in order, blend into one another, engulfing the listener in the sound, and not letting them leave until the final chord is struck.
The instrumentals on this album are exciting and skillful. Leon’s Getting Larger boasts their ear-worming guitar riffs and energy-infused percussion through each track on the album. Nearly every song features an instrumental interlude, and it is highly deserved considering the expertise of this band’s string and drum musicians. They bring the rock factor to what would otherwise be an indie-emo band, and they bring it with force.
Leon’s lead singer commands the audience’s attention through his low-pitched, unique voice. He conveys intense emotion in each track, tackling lyrics that deal with heartache, politics, and self- deprecation with the severity they deserve. The band adapts to the content of the lyrics with their tone, switching from intensity in the politically charged “Act Surprised” to playfulness in “Seasoned Alive” (a song which features witty food-related metaphors such as “Thousand Island stare” and “medium-well mistakes”). Humour pops up in this album’s other tracks like “Don’t Call Me Jared,” which makes fun of its narrator, saying, “Like the weatherman, I’m always wrong.” However, Leon’s best songwriting comes in their darker moments, through the lovestruck and love-scorned lines of “Antoinette” and the classic emo poeticism in “Oh The Places You’ll Go”. Leon’s Getting Larger excels in their lyricism and the melodies that convey it.
From top to bottom, this was an inventive and engaging album that held my attention the whole way through. It is available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify, and I highly recommend that fans of alt-rock and emo music check it out!