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Flyleaf
South By Southwest (SxSW) is held in Austin. More a continuous music industry party than anything else, the annual event ostensibly showcases new or emerging acts. Of course, to get invited to SxSW a band already has to have a reputation. Enter the Belton, TX, group Flyleaf. Their aggressive Rock, laced with acidic lyrics, made a lot of noise in their home state. Now it was time to move to the next level, and it worked perfectly. Their SxSW appearance earned them a contract with Octone Records.
An ending is often nothing more than a disguised beginning. Guitarists Bhattacharya and Hartmann watched their group dissolve and wondered what to do next. Meanwhile, Mosley, one of six children in a single parent household who spent her childhood moving from apartment to apartment when the rent was unpaid, shared her songs with Culpepper. Those songs drew on Mosley's prior addiction to drugs and alcohol that led, not coincidently, to serious bouts of depression. The two began working together eventually recruiting Bhattacharya and Hartmann. Seals completed the line-up. And just to help Mosley along, the entire band committed to sobriety.
A self-titled EP, produced by Rick Parasher (Pearl Jam) and Brad Cook, arrived in '05. Later in the year, a full-length album (also self-titled) hit with "Cassie" and "Breathe Today."
There once was a time that being a Christian Rock band was the kiss of death when it came to mainstream acceptance. Rock is about rebellion while Christianity revolves around acceptance. They're not mutually exclusive; it's just that one makes the other a little more difficult. Over time, Christian leaning groups developed a way of getting their message across without being blatant about it. For the most part, it worked well. Still, there are those who are quick to brew a controversy over whether a band is "Christian" or not. That sidebar has accompanied Flyleaf.
"Cassie," a song about a Columbine high school shooting victim, has the line "Do you believe in God?" which is what one of the gun boys asked before he shot and killed Cassie. On the tense "All Around Me," Mosley sings "I'm alive. I can feel you all around me." The spiritually oriented lyrics are certainly there but it's not really a big deal unless someone wants to make it one.
What makes Flyleaf interesting is their tough, theatrical sound. "I'm So Sick" is dark and dense with Mosley spitting out nightmarish verses. Mosley also uses her vocal prowess to good effect on the soft-loud parts of "Sorrow." Another outstanding track is the epic/Metal Rocker "Breathe Today."
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