#cincinnatti

Silver Leaf: Hey! e.p. (1986, 2020)

Once in a blue moon or a lunar eclipse I come across records like these and ask myself why they’re unearthed, or who in the hell finds them and where? Someone from the Vinyl Frontier somehow dropped this off and it’s not the usual Sixties soul or boogaloo funk on 45, nor rare Seventies jazz-fusion or space rock. It’s a four-track private press that the Emotional Rescue label decided to re-issue half of and release it digitally.

John Faris of Boulder’s Zephyr fame produced this timely project after their dissolution and transitioned from psychedelic blues-rock to new- / no-wave, which went on to issue three singles. His keyboard expertise may have been a good reason for this segueway to Silver Leaf, and experiencing this, you can hear why it’s deemed a private press, and where he was going with this. On the very first frame:

“Here it comes! Here we go!”

Jesus. It feels like a poorly executed surprise that you saw coming from a mile away. You dread it and it’s still handed to you no matter how hard you refuse it. That A-side “Hey!” brings the pain to the get-together in both ears. Silvia Leaf’s vocals (get it?) are gratingly atrocious with the sustained ‘R’s, ‘U’s, and ‘L’s on the depressingly gloomy “Can We Rebuild Our City?” and she tries. You could only imagine what notion she came up with that made her want to sing about a sad dystopia. Count whatever stars you have left that you’re not trapped riding shotgun with her sitting behind you insisting for you to hear how great her singing career is. It hampers what this e.p.’s going for it: brand-name shopping mall-core Eighties pop / synthwave that takes 15% off on a winter clearance sale in 1987?

This is such an AMAZING mitzvah opportunity!  

Auburn Aires

Columbus

Cleveland (where the Boleyn tour currently is)