Suspended Animation is a louder record than their debut, though not without its mellower moments, the orchestral touches standing out. However, a lot of the softer qualities are inflated as well as the grinding highs. On closer “Time Keeps Tickin’”, the guitar and cello sweep and swoon like elevated exit music. As a true counterpoint, though, Leapling up the pop feel in a big way on “One Hit Wonder”. The background harmonies and bright guitar evoke bands of decades past that fell into the pit of the song’s title. The smattering of keyboard here, as well as across the album, adds another interesting color to their palette.
In its collage of grungey indie rock, power pop, and lots of new instrumentation, Leapling have embraced a sense of inconsistency. Suspended Animation requires a bit of patience, digging through the assorted influences and trying to put together an understanding of the album as a whole. But if you put in the time, the album’s writing is strong enough to bring these differences together. As with many other Exploding in Sound artists, Leapling somehow paradoxically both easily recall their peers and successfully step away from the predictability that that should entail. CoS
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