After three albums and nearly a dozen years together as a group, Austin’s Leopold & His Fiction has never felt such urgency to create new music. Founded by Detroit-born singer-guitarist Daniel James Leopold in 2005, he soon joined forces with Alexander “Z” Lynch (bass/vocals), Jeremy Holmsley (keyboards/vocals) and Mark Henne (drums) to release their self-titled debut in 2006. Drawing equal influence from low-fidelity garage punk and the intricate arrangements of Motown & Stax-produced R&B, Leopold & His Fiction made a name for themselves over the next six years through their undeniable onstage and in-studio energy.
In undertaking the upcoming fourth full-length, Darling Destroyer, Leopold chose to steer away from his character-driven passages into much more introspective and direct lyrics in light of recent emotional severity, particularly the birth of his now-five-year-old daughter. On completing the album, Leopold says that harnessing this intense emotion pushed him to “raise the bar to a level that [he] didn’t even know could exist.” The sixth track on Darling Destroyer, “It’s How I Feel (Free)” marries Leopold’s new emotional intensity with his previously-idiosyncratic character elements and plants them atop a fuzzed-out bass line and a wailing guitar solo.
You can catch Leopold & His Fiction on Wednesday, January 25th at Stubb’s and you can check out Darling Destroyer on Friday, January 27th.
–Jack Anderson (Host Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)
