Local Honey /// LEAGUES

Our newest Lockeland Springsteener Takes on LEAGUES’ and their debut record, You Belong Here, as a Local Honey Album We Love.

Today, we bring you the first piece by our newest Lockeland Springsteener, Cameron Black. Cameron had Emily and I at “I play sax (in Diamond Carter) and like the Pixies.” You can read more about him here, and I look forward to you guys getting to know him.

Today, he takes on LEAGUES‘ and their debut record, You Belong Here, as a Local Honey Album We Love :::

In January, Leagues released their first full length album, You Belong Here. Leagues are a Nashville-based band with a catchiness akin to the Strokes, Vampire Weekend, and Cold War Kids. The album opens up with a positive message in “Spotlight” and the title track, “You Belong Here”, setting a tone for an introspective album that will be perfect for long summer nights. What makes this band interesting is what they are able to do with space. They don’t try to clog up the spotlight, but instead work together in a complementary fashion to bring you a cohesive, well-arranged song. “Walking Backwards”, the fourth track on the album, really emphasizes Leagues’ ability to come up with simple, catchy music that is still complex enough to stay interesting. There’s a real balance that is needed to pull off this kind of style, and Leagues has it. They are able to write a song that has you whistling along to the tagline while simultaneously reflecting on the lyrics. Vocally, lead singer Thad Cockrell stretches his range with a unique blend of strength and vulnerability. A real sense of power lies in owning that falsetto type of singing. Rhythmically, You Belong Here is full of rugged simplicity.  Leagues’ style is reminiscent of the strong-silent type. They don’t have to say much, because when they do, it’s powerful enough to fill up a room.

You Belong Here is a fantastic debut album. While the songs are written with the same instrumentation and feel, no two songs on the album really sound alike. There is an intriguing amount of variety present on each track, leaving me excited to see what this talented trio will bring in the future.

– Cameron Black