It’s difficult to downplay the potency of quality electro-pop like the kind produced by LEATHERS — the project of Canadian musician and visual artist Shannon Hemmett. Her appearance at this year’s Cruel World Festival is a testament to both the nostalgic yearning and thrilling prowess of their synth-fueled soundscapes. We expect their set to be a gleaming epitome of the very spirit and sound of the festival — don’t miss it.
Hemmett’s manifestation of LEATHERS started in 2016 when Jason Corbett, founder and vocalist/guitarist for the Vancouver post-punk band ACTORS, saw her singing acoustic covers she posted to her Instagram. He offered to make his studio, Jacknife Sound, and himself available to her as a producer should she want to collaborate on writing/recording a song together. It was this session that effectively resulted in the creation of her first single, the luminously brooding darkwave track “Missing Scene.”
In the aftermath of this budding new partnership, a temporary fill-in as a keyboardist for ACTORS turned into a permanent membership. The former manager of a design agency, Hemmett handles much of the administrative duties like tour management for the band, as well as the graphic design and photography of ACTORS and LEATHERS. Juggling all that while still performing for both projects and writing songs for her burgeoning solo career.
The release of her debut EP Reckless through Toronto-based Artoffact Records featured her first single alongside a beaming array of euphorically melancholic tracks like the propulsive “Phantom Heart.” In 2022, she unveiled two shimmering singles — “Runaway,” a dazzling glide of electronic anthemics, and the heady drum machine rush of “Ultraviolet” — that managed to magnify the gloomy dreaminess that made LEATHERS already so damn irresistible.
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By this time, Hemmett had also added her ACTORS bandmates Kendall Wooding (guitar) and Adam Fink (drums) to the project’s lineup, further expanding its sound to murkier sonic and emotional depths. In terms of contemporary fancies, she’s mentioned in recent years that she’s had on repeat everyone from Slow Crush to Grimes and Caroline Polachek. Last year ended with two more additions to the LEATHERS catalog that have lent her sound an avant-garde pop tint: “Highrise” and “Fascination.”
Hemmett’s debut album ULTRAVIOLET is now the fading sun on the horizon she races towards on her new single “Crash.” Against a backdrop of glassy synths and hypnotic rhythms LEATHERS find themselves embroiled in the doomed gravitational pull of a romance careening toward disaster. “Thick as thieves / We’re both villains,” her droning voice lucent. “We can still away the night.” Add it and all the other darkwave hits she’s released so far to those playlists meant for cruising nighttime cityscapes — and keep tuning in for more news regarding the forthcoming LP!
Words: Steven Ward
See LEATHERS at Cruel World 2024 in Pasadena, CA on May 11th.
Visit LEATHERS on their website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Listen to “Crash” the new single from LEATHERS below!
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