Matt Shea believes sleep is the cousin of death.
The best bands are the hardest to Google. Try finding Left. on the Internet. Good fucking luck, pal.
The Sydney two-piece are plugged directly into the powerpoint of Australia’s rapidly growing rap scene. They frequently work with members of One Day Crew and their music’s immaculate production comes courtesy of one Australia’s best, Horrorshow’s Adit Gauchan. They’ve found themselves at the centre of a movement, more or less, and yet they’re a very different beast to most of their contemporaries. Always a good sign.
“When My Body Sleeps” is Left.’s latest release, as well as their first music video. The vid’s a fine example of a very specific type, and guitarist Jono Graham needs less drugs/more haircuts. There are a couple of throwaway lyrics, but Sarah Corry is one of the most remarkable singers floating around right now, a controlled exercise in velvet-lined power. Most important, ‘When My Body Sleeps’ gives itself time — four and a half minutes to build into a shimmering, beautiful crescendo.
Otherwise, Left. fart around doing anything you could possibly imagine: writing songs named ‘Nessun Dorma’ (no shit) while remixing (in the loosest possible terms) everything from Destiny’s Child to Seekae (their take on ‘Another’ — see below — is probably the best thing they’ve done). At other times they’ve helped out on Disclosure covers, or reminded you of Sunny Day Real Estate.
So if nothing else Left. a) are hard to pin down, and b) have chutzpah. The through line, though, is the deft songwriting and a less-is-more approach to production. Just go to the Soundcloud and let it sink in. Even their ‘Impressions’ “sketches” have a buttload of appeal.
They’re co-signed by Tim Shiel, which is as good a pass as any. And if you are actually in Australia (g’day g’day) then you should know that they’re supporting Thelma Plum on a national tour, kicking off in Newcastle on October 30. You should probably go.
