A Great Big Pile of Leaves breathes a sigh of relief with the release of their new album
The Brooklyn based band kicked off their summer tour with an unofficial album release show at Philly’s Milkboy on July 3.
There is no better way to depict the essence of summer than through reminiscent lyrics and an upbeat tempo to accompany relaxing in the radiant sun. A Great Big Pile of Leaves managed to put all that there is about summer in their newest full length album, “You’re Always on my Mind”, which was released to the public on July 2.
Just after finishing a support tour with The Front Bottoms, New Jersey’s indie-punk band, A Great Big Pile of Leaves went on to promote their newest work by headlining an unofficial record release at Philadelphia’s Milkboy.
The fan reactions to the new album has been eye-opening for the band.
“The initial release is always so stressful for me,” said Tyler Soucy, the band’s drummer.
“Since we recorded it a year ago and we couldn’t show anybody, and since we used to record the songs ourselves we could just throw the songs online, but once we had the record deal done, it was like four months or five months from that point that new things were released. It’s one of those things where you sit with it a little too long and you start to get worried thinking, are people even going to like this? But no, everybody has been awesome so far,” he said.
Every song off the album provides an element of leisure and nostalgia for the summer before it even ends. Songs like the opener of the album “Snack Attack” and “Fun in the Sun” manage to show what each member of the band has to offer with Pete Weiland’s wooing vocals, the serenading quips from Matt Fazzi’s guitar, and the complex rhythms coming from Tyler Soucy’s drum set to Tucker Yaro’s bass section.
The blend of sounds create lively songs with a child-like portrayal of all things that makes their audience happy.
“I think that’s just the way Pete writes music,” Soucy said.
“Yeah, he’s just a fun loving guy. Pete writes the core of the song and then Tyler takes the rhythm to a new place and then Tucker takes the bass compliment to a new place. And there is a relationship between all three instruments. At the core Pete is the guy and then everybody adds a bit of flavor on top,” Fazzi said.
And flavor on top is just how A Great Big Pile of Leaves likes it, often making delicious references in their pieces.
“You should be skateboarding, eating pizza, drinking coffee, laying in the sun, swimming in a pool, going fishing. Anything that’s fun,” Fazzi said.
The band has come a long way since their first full-length in 2010. From self-releasing their first album “Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex?” to working with Producer Ed Ackerson for “You’re Always on My Mind” and releasing the album with Topshelf Records. Regarding their label, Soucy found comfort in Topshelf Records due to prior work being released by them and the fact that the label’s been around since the new album’s infancy.
“Everything they’ve done with the album is great – the PR [and] the marketing. They’ve allowed us free reign for the artwork and everything.” Soucy said.
There are now four solid members in the band and they all work together to make sure the dynamic of every song is different, yet still upbeat with catchy lyrics. The guys of A Great Big Pile of Leaves have a brilliantly radiant attitude toward life and love for music that is portrayed in every show they play. The fans tend to feed off of their energy and everybody leaves the venue with a smile on their faces.
For the future, the band is excited to be touring with a favorite band of theirs in Oct., Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, and planning out potential future headlining tours. But for now, the band will continue tour for You’re Always On My Mind and await its official record release show in New York City on July 12 where they will be supported by friends Young Statues and Matt Fazzi’s second band, Happy Body Slow Brain.
After a year of post-recording waiting, the band is relieved to finally be able to expose their summer-time anthems to the public.
“In a way we know the songs so well, they’ve been around for so long for us, but it’s refreshing to bring songs to life finally and to have the album in your hands finally. Refreshing is the best word I can pick,” Fazzi said.
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