Death and the Penguin Fuse British Charm and Biting Complexity on “Leatherface” (premiere)

Last month, English avant-garde rock band Death and the Penguin released its debut LP, Anomie, and established itself as a wildly multilayered and motivated new act. Self-described as “an incredibly thoughtful, musically literate and experimental record that… explores themes of love and loss, memory and perception, the personal and the political”, the album mixes bits of jazz, electronica, and math/alternative rock to unite pieces that are “equal parts delicate and bombastic”. Easily one of the best demonstrations of those qualities is “Leatherface”, which just got its official video (in preparation for the group’s upcoming UK tour).

The tenth entry on Anomie, “Leatherface” highlights arguably the quartet’s greatest and most laudable feat: mixing the complex mania of artists like the Mars Volta, Closure in Moscow, and Thank You Scientist with the British punk/pop charm of, say, the Last Shadow Puppets and Field Music. The band even calls it “one of the weirdest and catchiest songs [they’ve] written”, adding, “We love a good riff, and that’s where this track started, but it really went on a journey after that.” Specifically, lead vocalist Tobias Smith spits out feisty decrees amidst sharp guitar riffs, groovy bass lines, and entrancing rhythms; that is, until about three-fifths through, when the song suddenly introduces a rather somber and sparse deviation that exudes melodic peacefulness. Of course, it then returns to its original frenzy, showcasing just how varied and ambitious Death and the Penguin can be in just one track.

As for the video, it was spearheaded by Gender Roles bassist Jared Tomkins (whom the quartet was “thrilled to get”) and features artwork from Samuel Fairlamb. Inspired by “some of the original artwork created for the album… and the angular screeches and squeals of the track itself”, it’s like a psychedelic—though mostly B&W—hand-drawn flipbook filled with trippy imagery (eyes, shapes, fish, etc.) and inventive transitions. What truly makes it stands out is how its myriad depictions mutate into each other seamlessly, as well as how certain central outlines are inverted as it progresses. In that way, it represents well the creative experimentation of the music.

See for yourself how flamboyantly intricate “Leatherface” is below and check out all of Anomie when you get a chance. If you can, make sure you catch Death and the Penguin in concert once their UK tour starts on August 11th, too.