Apparently temperate weather isn't the only thing the Gulf Stream's transporting from England to Iceland. Forget Starsailor, Keane, or any other one-word, sleepy-head outfit, Reykjavik ensemble the Leaves are pulling off the best Coldplay masquerade right now. Sure, they play the same bubble-wrapped pop, but at least it feels like the first time.
From the slurred coos to the airy, angelic falsetto choruses, frontman Arnar Gudjonsson is an impeccable Chris Martin 2.0, though he's armed with more dignified lyrics than "there could be computers/ Looking for life on Earth." The lush instrumentation also handcuffs these guys to Martin and Co., with The Angela Test sounding like a Coldplay studio session highjacked by equally benevolent terrorists. Whether intentional or not, Leaves often circumvent these similarities on more ethereal, sprawling numbers. Bookmarked by "Shakma (Drunken Starlit Sky)" and "Should Have Seen It All", which span over a combined 17 minutes, they flirt with Sigur Rós experimentation though ultimately opt for protracted pop song structures and direct, larger-than-life vocals.
Unfortunately that dabbling sets the limit for how deep the Leaves wish to explore, and most of the album mires in a mid-tempo post-Britpop bog. You know the type-- a soft piano cues even softer vocals, some processed strings give their two cents, drums that might as well be strings, and a few teaser guitar parts before the song explodes into an epiphany of a refrain large enough to affront a god. Laughable as the formula may sound, the Leaves occasionally make gravy with it, particularly on single "The Spell" and "Killing Flies", a two-faced lullaby that mutates into a strident early-MBV noise collage.
Mostly, however, this formula falls flat on its face, and Gudjonsson resigns to the ole' "I'm gonna keep holding this note until it sounds pretty" bit, taking yet another page from Martin's book. "Good Enough" is a commendable stab at rocking, but those distorted guitars can't hide the uncanny resemblance to "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face". While the mimicry is frustrating, it's hard to really flog these guys. For whatever it's worth, they're doing the Coldplay thing better than Coldplay, sans the whole self-conscious, self-important idée fixe. The Angela Test may only be a sheep in wolves clothing, but they're at least humble enough to acknowledge the costume zippers.
