You can never tell where the lightning will strike: the time and place that will produce a great band. The Band came from scattered little towns on the Canadian rock’n’roll circuit. The Triffids from Perth. Nirvana from Aberdeen, pop. 16,000.
Here is another one, Leader Cheetah, a band formed out of songs written in the Adelaide Hills. That’s where the band’s singer and guitarist Dan Crannitch and his drummer brother Joel grew up. That’s where, joined by guitarist Dan Pash and bassist Mark Harding, they rehearse still, surrounded by the bush and the seasons.
“It’s true, a lot of bands seem to come from out-of-the-way places, somewhere a bit off the track,’’ says Dan. “You grow up with no idea of scenes or caring about what’s hip. It’s all about finding your own taste in music, creating your own thing. You’re trying to be true to who you are.’’
That story is repeated often. These bands get a precious few years to find who they are, to dream and to create that voice that sets them apart, then send it out to the world to see if it soars. That’s working fine for Leader Cheetah, who won many new friends with 2009 debut album, The Sunspot Letters. They toured the country, played shows with fellow travelers like Elbow and Doves. Now their second album, Lotus Skies, confirms their place as one of the most exciting and distinctive bands to emerge in Australia in years.
As with most bands that are built to last, Leader Cheetah don’t sound like anyone else as much as themselves. No one can say for sure what accidents of history, genes and personality creates an original sound in a band, but Leader Cheetah have it. The result is an album like Lotus Skies, music with wide-open spaces and long horizons and with real emotional force.
“Some bands thrive on friction but we don’t,’’ says Dan Crannitch. “We know we’re lucky to have the symbiotic chemistry where we leave our egos at the door. It’s that kind of harmony we know produces our best work.’’
Part of that strength comes from the evolving song writing partnership between Dan and his brother.
“The initial idea for a number of songs on Lotus Skies came from Joel,’’ Dan explains. “He might have a few chords, part of a lyric, an idea for a melody, these little gems he brings out for me to refine. That’s been a revelation and it brings more colour to the sound on this album.’’
Lotus Skies was recorded in Sydney with producer Scott Horscroft (The Panics, Little Red, The Sleepy Jackson), whose method was all about capturing the essence of the song without clutter, highlighting Leader Cheetah’s neat balance of clarity and mystery along the way. And while the songs might be emotionally raw, a number of them – see Crawling Up a Landslide and Midnight Headlights — have a positive thrust.
“The lyrics were written at a time when I was feeling that something was out of whack, emotionally and physically,’’ Dan Crannitch says. “I don’t know where that came from but it created this need to go deeper inside for these songs and all four of us felt that.’’
Leader Cheetah drew upon the varied talents of some good friends to take the songs deeper – with Holly Throsby’s vocals on anthemic Our Love, wild strings by Tom Spall on Midnight Headlights, and bold trumpet from Stewart Kirwan on the title track.
Like so many great albums, Lotus Skies is a testament to the power of the song, for the people creating them and for the people receiving them.
“People need to feel emotions, to connect with them through movies and songs and art in general,’’ Dan says. “For a songwriter, you have this thing inside you where you don’t feel right if you aren’t being creative. With this band we just feel like we’ve found the perfect fit, that the well is deep and isn’t going to dry up.”
Leader Cheetah aren’t the only ones who are going to feel good about that when the rest of the world hears Lotus Skies.
