TheLeftovers make their debut with six tracks of exploratory instrumental rock that shift effortlessly between mood and direction.
Matt Carter
Formed during the pandemic and fleshed out over the ensuing months, Sussex trio TheLeftovers start the year off with the release of their debut recording. Among Us features six tracks of exploratory instrumental rock that shift effortlessly between mood and direction.
“It started out as a pandemic project, basically to pass the time and reconnect with music,” said drummer Brock Jorgensen, who has been playing music with the group’s guitarist Corey McMillan since they were kids. “We hadn’t done much over the past 10 years, probably. Reconnecting and jamming to pass the time quickly turned into breaking down the riffs we were messing with. I thought to myself, ‘this needs to be documented.’ I didn’t want to leave these in the basement like we did when we were kids.”
Together with bassist Dale MacCallum, Jorgensen and McMillian mined through a wealth of improvised ideas to build the songs that make up their debut. Then they hit the studio to work with Ross Cole at Slanted Glass Productions in Moncton.
“Ross definitely gets our sound,” said Jorgensen. “A lot of melody and space. With only three instruments, we wanted the record to sound big. This being our first time recording, he was a great guide in helping bring our vision to life.”
The band spent much of November and December working with Ross to track the album’s six compositions which amount to nearly 50 minutes of music.
“The first time we heard our music played back, I remember whipping out my phone and taking a video of the monitors,” said Jorgensen. “It was a very cool moment to hear our stuff in a high end, professional setting. We all kind of looked at each other and started freaking out. Corey, Dale, and I have put a lot of work into these songs. It’s crazy to think what were once ideas in a basement are now going out into the world. That was the goal though, to have these tracks documented.”
Among Us highlights TheLeftovers unique means of structuring songs. A method that involves multiple starts and stops, as if the intent is to lead the listener through a series of dynamic pathways with no clear or apparent direction. But it is through this approach that Jorgensen, MacCallum and McMillan find a direction all their own. The process of connecting melodies and patterns in an unconventional way gives both the band and its debut release an identity that stands in contrast to the status quo. Among Us is, without a doubt, a bold, and confident debut.
TheLeftovers will be playing an album release show in Fredericton at The Cap on January 13 with The Merci-Buckets, and Tortue. Details below.
TheLeftovers Album Release Show w/ The Merci-Buckets, and Tortue | January 13 | Doors at 8:30 p.m. | Show at 9 p.m. | View Event
