Digital Leather is the lovechild of Shawn Foree and, well, Shawn Foree. He is the creative force behind the band -- injecting dirty synths, subdued guitars and crunchy drum machines into his grimy sound. This paragraph, taken from the band's website, best sums up Digital Leather's live sound:
The live Digital Leather sound is ugly and raw like a porkchop sitting out in the sun crawling with maggots. But still, you are starving to death. So you eat it. Mmmm.Digital Leather will be bringing all of this -- synths, grime, rotten pork chops -- to Tempe's The Manor this Saturday night. Question is, will you be there to revel in the all the shameless (or shameful, however you choose to look at it) glory?
Digital Leather is a band that is really all over the place. Foree's sound wavers between pure, garage rock layered with punk and melodic, haunting odes featuring lyrics such as "Long live the new skin / Death to the old flesh / I'm born again / With a sin in my heart" (from the track "My Fame.") It's a trying mixture that sometimes confuses the listener but, ultimately, wins them over. That variety gives Digital Leather's latest LP, Warm Brother its charm -- a charm that will kick you in the ass when you're not looking, but one that you end up buying a few beers at the end of the day.
Digital Leather just so happens to be managed by the omnipresent garage rock/punk musician Jay Reatard. Reatard's influence over the band can obviously be heard throughout the band's records, but Shawn Foree has made it clear that he is his own boss, the keeper of his own destiny.
Digital Leather's sound is something refreshing in this day of whiny indie rock vocals and boring, played out and formulaic rock bands. Yes, plaid Western shirts look cool and I get that your acoustic sound is all the rage right now, but it does nothing to separate you from the hordes of other bands that look and sound exactly like you. Why not take a chance and throw in a toned down synth or something else out of the ordinary every once in a while? You'd be surprised at how it distinguishes your sound from the rest of the watered down indie rock that is being churned out these days.
Such is the magisterial journey of Digital Leather. Come, join them while they grace Tempe with their presence. There will definitely be a maggoty pork chop there with your name on it.
