behind the music with

leatherette

'Pop in disguise'

by Luisa - November 09, 2023

Following their acclaimed 2022 debut album 'Fiesta', Bologna-based quintet Leatherette, named after the iconic punk record ‘Warm Leatherette’ by The Normal, have released an even more provocative and sophisticated record.

'Small Talk' sees the young band breaking free from post-punk constraints, embracing wild noise and twisted pop. This second album marks a new direction for the group, forging a unique voice driven by the same fiery energy as 'Fiesta.' It includes unabashed yet cleverly twisted pop songs and uncompromising noise, creating a thrilling and distinct sound that defies categorization. 'Small Talk' is a bold, focused, and addictive musical journey like no other.

Luca Gruppioni

You all met at the university in Bologna. Can you share where each of you is originally from and what you were studying there?

We are all coming from different regions of Italy: Jacopo is from Turin, Francesco is from Bologna, Andrea is from Lecce, Michele is from Terni and Marco is from Catanzaro. Andrea, Francesco and Marco studied/are studying music. Jacopo studied languages and Michele studied Graphic Design. But we are better rocknrollers than students :)
L/R: Marco Jespersen (bass), Francesco Bonora (drums), Jacopo Finelli (sax), Michele Battaglioli (vocals, guitar), Andrea Gerardi (guitar). Photos by Maicol Guidetti
Do you recall your very first concert as a band?

Yes and it was 100% cringe, it was at a metal venue and we were pretty f****d up.
According to your own description, you are "five shy guys who sometimes get off the stage and punch people." But…are you really shy?

Yes we are really shy. No we don’t really punch people hahah
Being an Italian indie band singing in English can be challenging in both the Italian market and abroad, where the competition is intense. What motivated you to make this choice?

We’ve all been listening to anglophone bands and artists since our childhood, so it was the most natural choice to use English as the language of our music. In Italy we actually have some good music but it’s pretty far from our taste. We know the competition is intense but we decided not to focus too much on this kind of stuff cause we think it’s not healthy.
Artworks from 'Small Talk'
It's clear that you strive to be unique and avoid categorization into any specific musical genre. How would you personally describe your sound to our readers? Could you recommend a track from your discography that a first-time listener could start with, and why that particular track?

Our sound is a mixture of both our listenings as music lovers and our experiences as people. We used to joke and call it post post punk, but now we adopted the definition of 'pop in disguise'.

One track? You better listen to all of them!

But 'Bureaucracy Apocalypse' is a good one to start with.
You don’t need a big budget to make a great music video, and I’m talking about ‘So Long’. What’s the story behind its creation?

That was kinda forced since we didn’t have a budget, but, yeah, the most powerful ideas are often the simplest ones. We came up with the idea by drinking some drinks at the bar and talking about what we used to do in our embarrassing teenage years, and man we used to play guitar hero a lot.
I guess you'll be embarking on a long tour soon. Can you share some stories from your past EU/UK tour and could each of you provide their advice for surviving on the road?

Our advice is to be like water… like Bruce Lee you know? And also be ready for a break up. Prepare the kleenex and the ice cream.

We have a lot of good memories from tours, but the most hilarious was a gig in France where the neighbors complained a lot and the engineers started to turn the volume down more and more, and in the end we were playing unplugged lol.

In conclusion: eat well, stay hydrated, sleep enough. Don’t be like us.