While many credit Dead Leaf Echo with providing just the right mix of space rock & dream pop sensibility necessary to help reignite the heretofore forlorn genre of shoegazer rock, I think the whole reality of this band’s work is something conceptually divergent. The accurancy of afforementioned stylistic labels aside, listening to this music I feel like I’m hearing something new.

There’s a feeling flowing through the lyrics and compositions that bit by bit reveils a very forthright sense of purpose. This sets it apart from the shoegazer genre. This band is less decumbent than their predecossors, and they’re fearlessly communicating… something.

On their latest release Verisimilitude (2011), we’re given a different angle on some of the same songs from Truth (2010). This combination punch allows the listener to continue to tumble even further through a spiral of synergized genres. The addition of digital elements on Verisimilitude amplifies Dead Leaf Echo’s already copious artistic merit.

DLE is part of an evolution of the reasons to rock. Blending traditional dreamy verve with digital elements, and doing it with purpose, is a hopeful and aggressive act. There’s just something inate about the seeking of “truth” (and the discussion of it in lyrics) that feels decidely at odds with a shoegazer mentality. I get the vibe that instead of staring down at the stage floor with their hair in their faces, they want to look their audience in the face. Their gaze may even be aimed upward, towards the sky.

releases, show dates, socials, vids, music, all on their website: deadleafechonyc.com
top image courtesy of Lexmat Images