Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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78 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tired of the Same Old-Same Old, March 13, 2006
I heard the single, "I'm So Sick," on the radio a few weeks ago. I bought the self-titled album. I went to their concert a couple of hours ago...And now I can't help but write a review.
Flyleaf is young, raw, still growing, and full of energy. On stage, they are passionate and fun to watch. In their songs, they are honest and searching, spiritual and hopeful. Are you tired of bands who wallow in despair or rage? Flyleaf goes to those places and then comes out on the other side. They show there is a way out.
Most of the songs on this album are worth repeat spins, and two or three are exceptional. Lacey's voice is able to draw you in with fragile emotion, then jar you to life with an unleashed scream. I love that in a female singer--and it's a rare trait. There is something here on this album for most rockers. I believe, in the future, we'll see more and even better things from Flyleaf.
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74 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Flyleaf of Their Book Contains a Very Bold Statement!, March 29, 2006
Flyleaf is:
* Lacey Mosley- lead vocals
* Jared Hartmann- guitar
* Pat Seals- bass
* Sameer Bhattacharya- guitar
* James Culpepper- drums
Mosley, the 24 year old lead singer who fronts the band, has a voice that sounds sweet and breathy one moment, yet will jar your soul out of complacency with a growl and scream that strikes like a viper without warning. This five member band comes from Temple, TX with a ferocity that says "HEY! Here we are!"
Hardcore fans will devour this standout debut from Flyleaf who is just starting their inaugural headline tour with Staind in the UK. To support their debut album they are touring with Cold, Staind, POD and Taproot after having earned new fans playing in front of Saliva, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Doors Down, and Trust Company audiences during the Spring 2005 tour supporting Flyleaf EP release.
Rip-roaring guitar, brooding beats, and emotionally-driven lyrical delivery from Mosley combine to create the distinct Flyleaf sound of "beautiful aggression". It is a sound that is hard to describe because it can change in an instant. In some ways this captures a specific aspect of humanity in that our thoughts can be simple, yet we complicate them by mulling them around in our finite brains, which creates chaos that becomes
confusion; a jumbled pile of hurt, brokenness, healing, setback, anger, redemption, faith, security, sadness, and hope. Like a silver orb in a pinball machine, our thoughts bounce all around, agitated and unsettled, ceasing only now and then for rest.
The first single off the album "I'm So Sick" is garnering much attention and winning instant Flyleaf fans. Driving bass lines carry along the esoteric and atmospheric guitar that provide the foundation over which Mosley sings a very melodic "I will break into your thoughts With what's written on my heart" and then she cuts with a growl that means business, "I will break, break!" This single is quite representative of the Flyleaf sound.
"Fully Alive", "Perfect", "All Around", "Breathe Today" and "So I Thought" (a very strong ballad-type song) and "There For You" showcase the beauty of Mosley's intimate voice on the softer side, while "I'm so Sick", "I'm Sorry", "Cassie", and "Red Sam" demonstrate through growling and intense vocal singing that this young woman has something important to say and you better be listening! This debut is a deluge of talent from this young singer.
A favorite off the CD is "Cassie" which features the story of Cassie Bernall, the "heroine" of Columbine fame who when asked if she believed in God, responded "yes". That "yes" was fatal to her body, but believers everywhere understand that Cassie's spirit lives on. This song captures the intensity of that moment and what it meant to be asked, or should mean to any believer when asked "Do you believe in God?" Mosley sings with a defiant and definitive "How many will die, I will die, I, I will say YEEEEESSSSSSS!" Another interesting thing to note about the lyrics is that they are written to say "Cassie pulled the trigger" implying that she, with her faith in God, was in complete control of the situation.
"The question asked in order
To save her life or take it
The answer no to avoid death
The answer yes would make it
"...And Cassie pulled the trigger"
This debut showcases the powerful pipes of Lacey Mosley and musicianship of the band members who make up Flyleaf. The songs are honest and always offer hope and positive messages. The driving metal sound is catalpulting their message to mainstream audiences who desperately need to hear them. No doubt that controversy will follow this band with people asking "Is Flyleaf a Christian band or not?", but to me it seems obvious through the lyrics of their music that their hope lies in the Savior Himself.
From the Flyleaf bio:
While many loud rockers reopen old wounds by singing about their broken homes and broken hearts, Flyleaf confront past traumas to heal old scars and prove in the process that hope shines brighter than despair.
Flyleaf's self-titled debut album echoes with songs about abuse, neglect, addiction and dysfunction, and messages about overcoming adversity. And the band's wide array of brooding beats, atmospheric textures and lunging riffs compliment Mosley's emotionally revealing lyrics, which range from breathy and beautiful to scathing and aggressive.
The blank page that one finds at the beginning of a book when it is first opened up is the flyleaf. It is the page that one writes a note, usually a personal note, to a friend when they give the book as a gift. Through amazing spiritual and sometimes gut-wrenching lyrics and their emotionally charged metal driven music, Flyleaf is penning the "dedication" on that blank page, and it's a positive and hopeful message to their fans and to hardcore rock music lovers everywhere.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Debut With Plenty Of Room For Growth, January 6, 2006
My introduction to Flyleaf was actually unintentional. I was checking out at a local music store and the guy behind the counter kept insisting that I pick up the Flyleaf EP that was out at the time. I had no idea who they were, or what they sounded like, but to shut him up, I put the few bucks down and in exchange discovered a damn fine new band! As I heard the first song "I'm So Sick" (which, like all the songs on the EP, re-appears here) I was hooked. The vocals of Lacey Mosley were not only hard-hitting, but also intriguing and sweet at the same time. There sure aren't a lot of good female fronted hard-rock acts out there, but Flyleaf are definitely one of them!
Now, over half the material on their self-titled full-length debut is recycled material from the debut, as reproduced by Howard Benson (Cold, Hoobastank) so I have to admit, it wasn't as exciting listening to this as it was the EP. And another thing I must admit, is that the EP was actually better! Due to the lower production values, the songs had more charm and just hit a lot harder. Here, a lot of the music is overproduced and just doesn't have that same spark. But, if you've never heard anything to compare this album to, I'm sure you wouldn't think the same. The great thing about Flyleaf is that they can't be categorized. You can't say they sound like "X" band, because, really, they don't. It's a bit nu-metal, it's a bit alternative and Lacey's vocals are often angry, but never distorted or processed. The girl has some powerful pipes and definitely outshines some other male frontmen in the genre. It's hard to imagine how Flyleaf would sound like with some dude front and center...
There isn't much variety on the album, but that can be forgiven, because this is just a debut, and a damn fine one at that. The strongest songs are "I'm So Sick," "I'm Sorry," "All Around Me" and the ballad "There For You" (which features Dave Navarro on guitar). If you are depressed by the lack of good female vocalists in the genre, then Flyleaf will serve as a worthwhile listen. Perhaps on their next album, they will show a little more range, but as it stands, they're onto something good.
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