Leisure Theory – Momentary Ordinary (2021)
Leisure Theory is taking on personal and global current events through the tracks of his EP Momentary Ordinary. With music that ranges from pop to indie rock, he draws on the influence of past work while combating the aftereffects of the pandemic. While each track touches on a different aspect of modern life, there is a thread that weaves through them all and connects the EP into a whole.
After struggling with writer’s block, Jake Smith, the man behind the music, enlisted the help of artist and producer Kid Blue. His first foray into musical collaboration resulted in a single that sparked enthusiasm and renewed musical energy. It is this energy that fizzes through the EP and pushes every element to the extreme.
The EP opens with ‘Prelude’, a short track that helps to set the overall tone of an EP that draws on eclecticism. The twinkling sparkles of the track meet the gentle synths to form a river of sound that pulls you onto soft clouds. There is a very light feeling to the track that lifts the spirits and lightens the load on your shoulders. The vacuum of sound that comes toward the end warps you into the rest of the EP for a wonderful opening to the EP.
‘So Without’ featuring Kid Blue slowly opens from the dip of the opening track before turning into a true pop song. There are beats that shuffle through your senses and get your shoulders shaking to them. While the melody has a moving and upbeat vibe, the lyrics touch on loneliness and the way people change over time. On the chorus, you get a serious hit of loneliness that comes from realising that the people around you are no longer the same. The song is a wonderful dichotomy of emotion that hits way harder than you first imagine. The melancholy that rests in your chest bubbles through the song while the pop sounds of the music lift everything to lead to the expansive climax of sound.
The melancholy of the last track drops for ‘The Change’ which brings a wash of positivity that chases the negative emotions away. There is a touch of glitch in the low levels of the melody that adds a slightly off-centre feeling to the melody. The vocals bring some stability to the track while filling you with the positivity you need in light of the negatives of life. The lyrics fill you with strength and the urge to stand against the tide of self-doubt and anxiety. It is a really uplifting track that encourages you to embrace your imperfections through the sparkling sweetness of the sound. On the chorus, there is a rising feeling to the music that washes over you with a rather irresistible smoothness.
‘Division and Rift’ takes you in a completely different direction with a much darker electronic sound. There is a dirty grunge feeling to the music that beckons you into the dark alleys of twilight. The electronic edge of the vocals adds to the late-night feeling of the music while bringing a strange fragility to the soundscape. This is particularly apparent when the vocals echo before hitting the chorus. Through all of this, the lyrics urge us to break away from the cold and dark side of life. Drawing on feelings of confusion and anger, this track tries to make sense of these emotions while questioning why we are feeling them and how we can overcome them.
The EP comes to a close with the title track ‘Momentary Ordinary’ that fizzes with pop sensibilities. The twinkling opening leads to conversational vocals that question a partner while trying to make sense of the events of the past year. There is a real pop chart feeling to this track with beats that sweep through you and get you moving while the vocals smoothly pull you into the lyrics. The use of a relationship as the vehicle for questioning something bigger makes it easier to connect with the sentiments of the track. While a blast of commercial pop, this track is really thought-provoking and has you questioning how the unprecedented events of the last year have affected how we view ordinary things in our lives.
Leisure Theory touches on a range of heavy topics while softening them with some swirling pop sensibilities in Momentary Ordinary. The EP moves across the spectrum of pop with a splash of glitch and rock thrown in. Each track has a unique feeling while questioning something that we may overlook in life.
Find out more about Leisure Theory on his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
