The Leg

The Leg

Oozing A Crepuscular Light

(Song, By Toad)

It begins with a Ry Cooder slide guitar galloping through the Cowgate on a bender with Frankie Laine's Rawhide. Later, the insectoid cabaret of 25 Hats (mocked by the laughter of its descending cello scale) bleeds into the Keystone Kops piano riff of Chicken Slippers. No idea is deemed too strange for Edinburgh trio The Leg, as they increase their grip on melody while loosening the restraints on their dadaist approach to the art of pop. Lionlicker is a sweary nursery rhyme set to the delightful sparkle of open keyboard chords while that same piano (played by cellist Pete Harvey) strops off in a more thunderous mood on Don't Bite A Dog. There are only eight songs here across a brief 24 minutes, but it's time well spent as tuneful hooks draw the listeners in even as Daniel Mutch's lyrics furrow their brows. All in all, it's lo on fi but surprisingly hi on fun, and completes a hat-trick of excellent 2013 releases (Adam Stafford, Sparrow And The Workshop) from indie label Song, By Toad.

Alan Morrison