Austin Sound

An Austin Sound favorite, Leatherbag unveils his fourth album, Love and Harm, on Thursday, April 17, at the Cactus Cafe. The Houston expatriate has been combining his vision of integrity and American folk with whatever he finds in other musical realms. With a slight, Texan drawl that just embodies the good old Americanism that’s so tough to easily find in music, Leatherbag (aka Randy Reynolds) met with Abhinav Kumar, whose radio show, Tons of Fun, you can tune in every Thursday evening from 8:00-8:30pm on KVRX 91.7FM. Leatherbag will be live and in-studio on Tons of Fun on this Thursday, April 10. You can also download “Stand Close,” an exclusive outtake from the new album here.

3/28/08
Come April 17th, Randy “Leatherbag” Reynolds, will be releasing his new album, Love and Harm with a show at the Cactus Cafe. If you’ve had the opportunity to catch any recent Leatherbag shows, then you’re probably prepared for the eclectic sweep of the album, everything from banjo ballads to pure Sixties pop jangle to gritty garage rockers. Yet even given the wide range, Reynolds is also a heavy-handed editor when it comes to honing his own music, and this fantastic track didn’t make the cut for the upcoming release. Leatherbag has, however, allowed us to post the mp3 for all to enjoy.

We’re on the edge of our seats over here at Austin Sound waiting for the upcoming release from Leatherbag (aka Randy Reynolds). The album-to-be is currently titled Love & Harm and is due in April on local label Superpop. We caught some of the new tunes live at the Graham Weber release show last weekend for his new album The Door To The Morning, which Leatherbag produced. While we wait though, two new songs from the album just went up on his Myspace: “On Down The Line” (check out the video below) and “It’s Over.”

We’ve always said Leatherbag’s music is like a one-float musical parade through the ideal suburban neighborhood street (or something like that). Here, finally, is the visual proof.

Catch Leatherbag at any of three show next week: Wednesday, January 16 at the Carousel Lounge (with Austin Collins and Graham Weber), Thursday, January 17 at Emo’s Lounge (with Frank Smith and Mice & Rifles) or Saturday, January 19 at the Cactus Cafe (with Alejandro Escovedo). Looks like somebody has to pay for their new video.

Video: Leatherbag - “On Down The Line”

It’s moments like this that truly make Austin an amazing musical town. Bringing together the impressive talent stables of local imprints C-Side and Superpop, No Bridges to Cross features members The Channel, Golden Bear, Leatherbag, The Archibalds, Hope Irish, Secret Sideshow, and Brother Machine – basically a massive collective of nearly every artist associated with the labels. The crux of the project, however, is built upon the songwriting talents Driftin’ Luke (Colby Pennington) and Leatherbag (Randy Reynolds), both extremely prolific and wide-ranging writers who here push each other’s songs in new, spectacular directions.

This spring, Leatherbag will be releasing a limited run of 7″ singles for “My Sister,” the lead track off his full-length debut, Nowhere Left to Run. As the B-Side for the single, Leatherbag recorded “Kathryn Says,” with his band, which includes Joey Thompson on banjo, Seth Gibbs on drums, and Pete Stafford on bass.

“Kathryn Says” offers an interesting counter to the rollick of “My sister” - more mellow and perhaps a bit more in line with Leatherbag’s earlier EPs. Since the single will be released as vinyl only and limited to about 50, Leatherbag has allowed us to share the B-side for download. Keep an eye on his Myspace for ordering info when the single gets released.

This spring, Leatherbag will be releasing a limited run of 7″ singles for “My Sister,” the lead track off his full-length debut, Nowhere Left to Run. As the B-Side for the single, Leatherbag recorded “Kathryn Says,” with his band, which includes Joey Thompson on banjo, Seth Gibbs on drums, and Pete Stafford on bass.

“Kathryn Says” offers an interesting counter to the rollick of “My sister” - more mellow and perhaps a bit more in line with Leatherbag’s earlier EPs. Since the single will be released as vinyl only and limited to about 50, Leatherbag has allowed us to share the B-side for download. Keep an eye on his Myspace for ordering info when the single gets released.

Sound Wave: Leatherbag - “Kathryn Says”
Kathryn Says

Websites:
Myspace
www.superpoprecords.com

On his exquisitely melancholic Love Me Like the Devil EP released last year, Leatherbag’s songs hung heavy in the strains of a cello and slide guitar. There was a mournful air attached to the dreams of escape in songs like “Tennessee” and “New York,” a sadness and desperation that underpinned, and undermined, the illusion of the promise in the open road. On his much-anticipated full-length debut, Nowhere Left to Run, that realization seems fulfilled as Leatherbag sings from the other side of disillusion. Nowhere pines through lost loves, haunted memories and roads taken to their disappointing dead ends, yet, somewhat paradoxically, floats more lightly than his previous efforts.

With three excellent albums put out in the past year, Leatherbag has emerged as one of the best songwriters in a town where such praise is not lightly given. Last year’s Love Me Like the Devil EP grabbed our attention with its meloncholic elequoence and proved to be one of the best local folk albums of the year. His latest release and first full-length, Nowhere Left to Run, was put out last week on Superpop Records and expands on his songs’ sound with the help of his talented backing band the Cows. While the album jumps off with an unmistakeable (and impressively executed) nod to Dylan, the ten tracks only further solidify Leatherbag’s reputation as one of Austin’s best young songwriters. Leatherbag will be performing Saturday January 13th with Ralph White, Graham Weber and the Archibalds at Ego’s.

With a name like Leatherbag (and his backing band “The Cows”), you might expect a rollicking, honkey-tonk sound or even a loud and crass hell-billy rock. In actuality, however, the songs on Love Me Like the Devil are all soft and slow folk narratives, deftly written and understatedly delivered with a mournful cello and slide-guitar backing.

Leatherbag’s voice is rough hewn with a weariness expressed in the best folk songs, but the scratchiness of his singing isn’t overpowering. Rather it shades these songs gently with age and a wise-beyond-his-years sound in the vein of William Elliot Whitmore. The songs also move with a mysterious, slightly uneven phrasing that makes it seem as if only he could properly sing them. But those unique inflections and pauses also keep the songs interesting and rewarding amid the album’s overall lack of variation.