leprous bilateral

Released: 22 August 2011 Label: Inside Out

It might be something in the air, in the water, or just a means of keeping warm through long, dark winters, but it seems there is no end to the talent coming out of Scandinavia these days. This time around, it’s the turn of Norway to present rapidly emerging avant-garde prog rockers Leprous.

Bilateral is the second full-length from the quintet, following their 2009 debut Tall Poppy Syndrome and a clutch of earlier demos.  Perhaps the first thing to stress is that while the prog and avant-garde labels are entirely justified, this is far from an inaccessible album and even the most adventurous moments glimmer with commercial sheen.

To neatly pigeonhole Leprous’ musical style would be a nigh on impossible task, given that stylistically the band flies here, there and everywhere. No bad thing, as surely that’s what progressive music should be about, but it means the best any review can hope for is a snapshot of the diversity on offer.

The band veers from the militaristic march of Waste of Air with its extreme metal overtones to the sparse and downbeat Mb Indifferentia as if it’s the most natural thing in the world – and for a band so clearly in love with their music, it is.

It would be lazy to reduce the genius of Bilateral to series of comparisons to other bands – although you will hear many – and it’s tempting to lavish high praise on each and every unique track, but for all the sublime beauty of many of these songs individually, Bilateral is the type of album that demands to be heard as a whole and judged only in its own context.

Jarring, cerebral and often painfully beautiful, Bilateral is a fine piece of work and an album that will restore your faith in the power of music to touch your heart and soul. Sit back and love it.

by Marcus Jervis