Review by Rachel Jablonski
You have to read the band’s bio to get a full perspective on the debut album LVL IV from Buffalo’s Future Leaders of the World. Typically I read a band’s bio and think “yeah, yeah” as I pick out the pertinent information such as where the band is from, discography, and that kind of thing. But I found this bio to be quite interesting. The path that led to this album release is lengthy and too specific to front man Phil Taylor for me to describe. But I can describe the sounds of his resulting album.
When you listen to LVL IV you might feel warped into an older rock time period maybe dating back to the era of Skid Row. The first single, “Let Me Out” left me puzzled when I first heard it on the radio. Who is this? I wondered as the voice seemed familiar in some way. The vocals are scratchy over a combination of clean guitar verses and distortion-filled choruses. I’m a liar and a cheat in prison accused of telling the truth sings Taylor leaving the song wide open for interpretation.
"Spotlight" is quite possibly the best track on the album. An enjoyable deep chord progression begins the song creating a rather immersed mood. With logical rock progression the bass provides the steady dark feel while the guitar alternates from a soft riff in verse back to match the original succession of notes in the chorus again combining with the bass for a rich and full sound. But not every track on the album consists of scratchy melodies and dark tones.
“Sued” is more upbeat in sound despite mumbled vocals and rather depressed lyrics. Along the same lines, “House of Chains” flows almost like a lullaby as a slow, more upbeat song. There are also some rap-like vocals on a few tracks such as in “Your Gov’t Loves You.” This track is, obviously, politically aimed as are a number of other songs.
Musically, LVL IV is along the lines of a typical rock album. Steady beats, moments of light, clean guitar sounds and instances of distorted, deep guitar carry this album through a variety of vocal accompaniments. The scratchy vocals of Phil Taylor remind me of a strange mix between Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, Wesley Reid of Puddle of Mudd, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, and even a little of Layne Staley of Alice in Chains at times. The rapped parts to songs do not resemble any of the said vocalists and seem out of place on this album given the overall patterns and tones.
Though I don’t think the band’s name really reflects the power of this first release, there are some promising tracks on the album demonstrating an older rock feel I have not experienced in awhile. Beyond that, the effort and determination it took for this album to be undertaken is quite admirable and for that I definitely give the band props.