Breathe

Leaves (Iceland), The Leaves | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dreamworks
• ASIN: B0000C7PR9
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,824 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great surprise!, May 18, 2004

By 

David Parker (burlington, vermont United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breathe (Audio CD)

Only last week, while poking around some CD stacks at the radio station I work at, did I find this debut from the Icelandic band "Leaves", with the little sticker on the front that mentioned the band Sigur Ros. Little did I know I'd end up with a band more in the realm of Coldplay than S.R., and one of the best albums I've heard in months! Sure, they sound a lot like Coldplay (and who doesn't sound like SOMEBODY these days?! - "Yellow" certainly owes a lot to Catherine Wheel, in my book!), but Leaves also reminds me of the band Mansun, whose "Attack of the Grey Lantern" is still a fave! Overall, I don't care WHO they remind me of as long as the songwriting is strong, and here, the band craft gorgeous melody after gorgeous melody, with intricate interplay between guitars and vocals, to create a perfectly dreamy summertime album (unfortunately, this album is probably "over" now as far as their record company is concerned, since it was actually released last September). But hey, whatever influences this band incorporated to make this excellent album, I have no qualms - I'll just enjoy it over and over again. (And let it make my wait for the new Cure album a little less painful!)

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flashback, September 10, 2002

By 

M. Fantino (San Francisco, California USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breathe (Audio CD)

Leaves have all the ingredients to make them a sensation. They come from Reykjavík, Iceland, in a time when it is well understood that all good rock is coming from the northern lands (Sigur Rós, also from Iceland; Sahara Hotnights, (International) Noise Conspiracy/Refused, The Hives, Kent, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, all from Sweden). And they have a great one-word name.

I was very excited to get their debut, Breathe. I ordered it from overseas in order to be one of the first Americans in-the-know. I must say, I am a little disappointed. Just a little. Still, I recommend this album, and I will try to tell you why.

Their opening track is I Go Down. A sonic wonder instantly conjuring memories of Thom Yorke's falsettos (before they became legendary). The song builds beautifully, the electric-guitar work and strings weave the way we all liked Sigur Ros' meanderings, yet the acoustic expands out like so many Coldplay songs. If the whole album were like this my star rating would be noticeably higher.

But, unfortunately, it seems Leaves leaves short where they imply to be taking us. Overall, it is a very listenable album, but all the while one cannot ignore almost obvious tributes to The Verve (without the life-changing lyrics) and Radiohead (without actually blowing our minds away) and furthermore, British contemporaries can be cited: Lorien, British Sea Power, and Doves... to name a few.

Still, these Leaves influences, while perhaps deliberate, certainly overdone by a legion of other bands, with these guys it feels almost right. It's as if these Thom Yorke and Richard Ashcroft echoes emerge layer by layer by a sort of alchemic hocus-pocus.

There is a bonus track that evokes the ethereal fuzz-grunge epic of their fellow Icelanders Sigur Rós, though, less breathtaking, less magnificent. In fact, the vocals sound more Dave Gahan in his People Are People style of singing.

I guess what I am trying to say is Breathe is a good album, I'm not going to sell it secondhand, it sounds good ... it just seems like I've heard it before.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good melodic rock, October 30, 2005

By 

Russell Foster "music freak" (usa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Breathe (Audio CD)

I heard this playing at a cd store. I asked the guy at the counter who it was. I thought it was coldplay. He told me it was the leaves. I bought the album. I was floored at how good it is. I know they sound a little like coldplay. They do have there own sound though. I recomend this cd to fans of coldplay,travis,radiohead.