WORLD LEADER PRETEND

THE BAND: Having a lead singer that is friends with Thom Yorke of Radiohead and sounding like the next Coldplay, you can hear a lot of influences in WLP's sound: pounding drums and piano's that fill a space with drama and intrigue, yet also honesty and soul. World Leader Pretend hail from New Orleans, a city known for its culture and music. While recognizing their roots, they are a sound all their own: "Our competition (in New Orleans) was washboard zydeco bands and men in suits with trombones. There wasn't a scene, let alone a race to make it to the top," said Arthur Mintz, drummer and former puppeteer. After faking some drama to the local press to get some eyes and ears in their direction, WLP cashed out on what they owned and flew to NYC and Harlem to record. "Punches is essentially a pop record, but its aesthetics were unexpectedly shaped by the soul music they had come to adore over the previous year at home. .....We had time and freedom - freedom to take things at our own pace and do whatever we wanted, which in our case was to make something beautiful and artful." From vh1.com

THE SOUND: While friend of the Test Pilot (FOTP) disagreed with my admiration of them, telling me they threw the CD out of the window after only having a good first song (Bang Theory), WLP is one of the few bands I felt I had to go get the album. The sound is like the lead singer of New Radicals backed by how good Coldplay could be. Piano ballads, power ballads, all rocking out. My biggest complaint is the heavy, HEAVY use of sleigh bells in what seems to be 90% of their songs. It seems like a Christmas album. Other FOTP have listened to it and liked the start and not the end of the album (especially the random Artic Monkeys-like track, B.A.D.A.B.O.O.M. that sticks out like a sore thumb), I would definitely give them a shot and see where you land. BUY Punches

MP3 - Bang Theory
MP3 - Tit for Tat
MP3 - Lovey Dovey