Pretty Pretty- Leather Weather 7"

PRETTY PRETTY- LEATHER WEATHER

"It's Leather Weather baby"

I was so excited when I heard several months ago that Pretty Pretty was going to be recording this 7". Not just because Evan Wolff and Larry Teevee are friends of mine. Not because I play in a band with Evan either. But because this is a band who writes incredible songs, and I was stoked to hear some clean recordings from them, a change from their first demo EP which came out in 2012.

The 7", recorded by Shane Natalie, drummer for Tight Bros (another band Evan plays in), didn't disappoint. Larry's singing is crystal clear on the record, which is great because it's certainly a strong point of the band. Her voice has always reminded me a bit of the singer of Henry's Dress; that sort of lovely sounding twee voice. It nestles in perfectly with Evan's Springsteen-esque guitar playing and singing and Jon Washington's ridiculously tight punk drumming. The production of the album is solid as well; thick guitar, punchy drums, all the good stuff.

The whole EP is laced with that familiar sonic feeling of being free spirited, driving with the windows down, and not givin' a damn. But if that were the extent of the content, I wouldn't like it nearly as much as I do, because a lot of that shit bores me. 

But for starters it's done so much better than the rest, both in songwriting and in performance, that it's impossible not to recognize that this is a band that knows damn well how to write a punk song. Evan shreds his way through the EP with downright solid guitar leads, an underrated accessory to many bands. Larry chugs through the album on the bass guitar as well, exceptionally locking in rhythmically with Jon Washington (there's a tight instrument break at 0:54 of the song "You Say" that I really enjoy).

 Additionally, the band is charming. The frequent mentions of rain falling in the lyrics, (and a song titled "Feels Like Rain"), put through the lens of straight forward punk rock and roll, give this EP an interesting feeling of acceptance of life's shit, and willingness to just throw on a leather jacket and go outside to have fun anyway. 

You can purchase a digital copy of the EP here, and a physical copy of the 7" will be available shortly from Let's Pretend Records and Mandible Records.

Also, if you're from Columbus or live in the general Ohio/Midwest region, go to the release show of this 7" Thursday October 2nd at Spacebar in Columbus, Ohio. They're even better live.

photo credit Andy Downing; Columbus Alive