Leanne Wilkins & the Weathered unleashes new musical landscape
A first-listen to Leanne Wilkins & the Weathered’s EP Ordinary Grey will have you thinking that maybe the quintet should be called Leanne Wilkins & the Polished.
Wilkins returns following her 2008 debut album Waterwheel with a formidable, seasoned band. Every note, every beat, is exact and uncompromised. Guitars and drums are high in the mix, making for an attention-grabbing live-sounding record. Wilkins has never sounded better in her vocals and her prowess as a wordsmith is on full display.
Opening track “Battlefield” is alive with imagery. Wilkins sings: Shots rang out from overhead/Fire spewing from their mouths/Embers lit the midnight sky/Arrows pierced their bleeding hearts.
“Turn It Down,” the centerpiece of the record, describes the messy ending of a relationship and the woman at the center of it all, livid at the man who did her wrong. “Charades” has the breezy folk sound reminiscent of Wilkins’ earlier work. And the fourth and final track features a dynamic blues rock version of “Earth Meets Sky,” previously released on Waterwheel.
Whether you like Wilkins as a folky troubadour or a raucous rocker with an electric guitar, there is something for everyone on this record. It’s a welcome return for Wilkins. Hopefully, the wait won’t be long for the Weathered’s first full-length studio album. Ordinary Grey is a harbinger of great things to come.
