Greenleaf have been doing this for a long time.
The history is long and tortured. They were a side project for Dozer man, Tommi Holappa, but they’ve been releasing records for getting on for a quarter of a century – and they are always classy affairs.
This nine tracker is no different, but by the end of the opening drum beat for “Breathe, Breathe Out” there’s a fair chance you’ll be singing “I come from the land of the ice and snow” in your head. It’s hypnotic, it’s classic rock. It thunders. It rumbles. Moreover “Avalanche” likes the idea so much that it does it again.
These are grooves you can lose yourself in. They basically demand it, but interestingly, this is never some chin-stroking exercise, “Different Horses” has a real energy, while “A Wolf In My Mind” is different, something ominous lurks here.
It is a lean album, with no excess fat – as if the only thought was about quality – but nonetheless has plenty of twists, turns and all sorts. Right in the middle a huge blues thing comes in and for one minute and 50 seconds “The Obsidian Grin” out Rival Sons’ Rival Sons if you will.
All of this means that when “The Sirens Sound” kicks off just after, it jolts. The contrasts are superb and prove how versatile singer Arvid Hällagård is.
The whole band, though – and more than ever Greenleaf are a band – are in fine form throughout this. Arguably this is the best and most cohesive thing they’ve done, and “Oh Dandelion” rather underlines that.
And “The Head The Habit” has all the bases covered, because “The Tricking Tree” is a real meandering epic that moves things into a psychedelic realm, and its closing crescendo is bang on.
The Alabastrine Smile” (I had to Google what it meant….) is more sparse, but it ends a superb record. One that proves that Greenleaf are not just for fun anymore, but the real deal. They’ve found their voice and it’s a hard habit to break.
Rating 8/10
