What has Leevai been up to?
Earlier this year (February, to be exact), I spoke to Leevai (Levi Ryall to those who know him), an independent musician based in Meanjin. Since then, I would consider Levi a friend, someone I talk to now and then, supporting from afar. Personally, my introduction to Leevai was through his song 'Try Hard' which I was constantly blasting through my Sennheiser's while waltzing around Liverpool - you may have even heard it in your local indie record store (ahem, Defend Vinyl) multiple times earlier this year. That being said, Levi makes some fucking great music, man. Australia is a hotspot for indie music at the minute, genuinely, some of the best stuff coming out right now is coming from there.
What I appreciate the most about Leevai's music, both then and now, is that it is not confined to a singular genre - it soars through them all. A sonic masterpiece, if you will, something for every mood.
Do I want to wallow, feel sorry for myself, hate myself a bit? Got 'em. Do I want to have a dance, sing horribly, and get a rush of adrenaline? Got 'em. Or, do I want to either focus with unmatched intensity / sit mindlessly? Got 'em.
In the couple of months since I interviewed Levi, he's released an eight-track album and four singles (one of which was on the album) - so, a quiet, unbusy couple of months, I guess. In all seriousness, this guy has been busy. It's one thing to record a shitton of music, it's a whole other thing for all of that music to be good, and luckily for us (and himself), Levi exceeded all expectations. Like I said before, 'Try Hard' was a staple for me earlier this year and remains to be a desert island disc for me. So, it's hard to say if another Leevai track will ever take its place, but it doesn't have to.
Something that interests me about Leevai is that he excels in capturing both that midwest emo / indie garage rock sound and the peacefulness of ambient noise. Two things I fucking love, personally. Is it common for those of us who love noisy music to also love ambient noise - it's sort of like a relief from the noisiness whilst still being noisy (ironic, ha). Anyway, Leevai's sophomore album is titled 'Do You Feel This Way Sometimes?' which is fitting for the album. To be honest, at times, I feel that instrumentals convey the most emotion - sure, lyrics are great and all, but sound is the real communication tool. Nothing quite provokes emotion in me like the gentle, drony sounds of the four ambients, simply titled: 'Ambient 1', 'Ambient 2', Ambient 3' and 'Ambient 4'. If you get me, you get me.
'Ambient 2' was the single of the album and is particularly atmospheric. Let me set the scene: you win the national lottery, and your dream is to go to space, so you pay some fellas a lot of money to kidnap Jeff Bezos (asshole), and you're like, "Hey Jeff, sorry 'bout kidnapping you, but would ya do 'is a favour and send 'is to space?" Jeff's like, "Go'wan 'en my guy, no worries lad. I'll come too, bais trip." (Jeff is Gen Z in this story and loves football, calling women 'birds', and loooooves DnB and Kneecap). So, off you go to space, and the vibes are immaculate, just like 'Ambient 2'! Until... the connection breaks, you're completely cut off from Earth, you've run out of food, and then the ship explodes. Alternatively, you can watch the music video and pay your respects to those who came before you (fuck colonisation).
Anyway, let me backtrack to the start of the album, enough rambling about fucking Gen Z Jeff Bezos. 'Professional Passenger' (ouch at the title, me for real) opens the album - and it is the perfect introduction to the sonic landscape Leevai has managed to paint by the end. It sounds like the perfect track to soundtrack your favourite sci-fi/fantasy montage (very Stranger Things-esque). Strangely, both this track and the final track, Clam Shells, ignite this strong feeling of nostalgia within me - yanno, the nostalgia for your late teenage years that were actually, for the most part, fucking shite, but now that you're older, are romanticised to the point of no return. Maybe it's that when we're younger, we give less of a fuck, we know less, and so we aren't afraid of much. Or is it that the drink doesn't quite taste the same once you turn 18? Most of the fun of going out was getting leathered and wondering whether you and your mate, who look nothing alike, would get in the bar using her identical twin sisters' ID cards. Fuck, I used to run about with a Union Jack wrapped around me on the 12th and 13th of July in Northern Ireland as an early teen, now I shudder at the thought of it - but it was fun then... naivety is both a blessing and a curse, I guess.
See? This is the power of ambient music - wield it with responsibility, like me.
I did mention that Leevai is not confined to a singular genre, though, and the other three singles he released besides 'Ambient 2' and his sophomore album 'Do You Feel This Way Sometimes?' find their place in the midwest-emo/garage rock sphere.
'Do It Again' features janedog, aka Jane Milroy of Platonic Sex / Melaleuca fame, and it is Aussie-emo at its finest, with a sprinkle of jangle-pop for the vibes. Not to mention the vocals, I mean damn - and the vocal layering on this track is insanely good. Kudos to you guys.
That signature Leevai spin on garage rock, which can be heard in his hits like 'Try Hard' and 'Cardigan' comes back to light on 'Stuck' (previously released as a demo in 2023) - with its confident riffs, drum beats that could make even the stiffest person sway, and its general heaviness.
Earlier last month, Leevai released 'Crumbling', which I would class as 'real emo' if anyone's asking - subjective though (don't fight me). Jokes aside, it is real emo in the sense that it is really emotional - intense in its intimate portrayal of mental health at its lowest and the ruts one can find oneself in, worse, those they care about. Cringe as it sounds, things do get better. Trust me, I've been there too.
If you're not onto Leevai already (see yourself to the shame corner), get onto his music here.
