The Persian Leaps are back with their new single ‘When This Gets Out’, which was born of frustration during the Trump presidency. This track is a welcome taster of their new album Drone Etiquette, slated for release in autumn via Land Ski Records.

With solid hooks melding the best of The Lemonheads, Tom Cochrane and Teenage Fanclub, this is down-to-earth and catching, as ever for this Midwest-based artist, with heightened pop sensibility.

“Each week, it seemed there was a new Trump-related scandal that by rights should have sunk him. However, instead of consequences, the scandal would be eclipsed the next week by something even more appalling. After a while, people didn’t even bother to pay attention.” ‘When This Gets Out’ imagines something big enough to cut through the apathy, alienate the enablers and apologists, and finally make a difference. Also, starting out the EP with the song seemed very appropriate. “When this gets out, the shit will hit the fans,” says Persian Leaps mastermind Drew Forsberg.

During the 2020-2021 pandemic, Forsberg recorded this 6-song Drone Etiquette EP as a solo effort, primarily due to lockdown limitations.

Hailing from St.Paul – Minneapolis, The Persian Leaps has gone through various lineups but has always surrounded principal songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Drew Forsberg. Embedded on a magnetic alternative rock foundation, the latest musical output continues The Persian Leaps’ tradition of producing power pop earworms with midwestern charm and an inherent element of 90s ‘college rock’.

The band-name came to Forsberg in a daydream during a college Greek Archaeology class. Writing solo music under that name for years, he finally assembled a band in 2012, thereafter releasing an EP of five songs every autumn until 2017. NME Magazine described their debut ‘Praise Elephants’ EP (2013) as “celestial guitar jangle”. From their sophomore ‘Drive Drive Delay’ EP in 2014 to their fifth ‘Bicycle Face’ EP, their music has been widely praised. Delivering one perfect power pop cocktail after another, they eventually released their 18-track ‘Pop That Goes Crunch’ anthology in 2018.

That year, the Leaps once again returned to their roots as a studio project, releasing the ‘Electrical Living’ LP in 2019 and the ‘Smiling Lessons’ EP in 2020 together with Jon Hunt, a musician and graphic designer who did the cover artwork for most of the band’s releases to date.

Drew Forsberg notes, “This EP was an especially difficult one to record and finish. Because of the pandemic, I was forced to abandon a lot of the comfortable processes I’ve used for years. The friends I collaborate with for recording and performances weren’t available in person because of health issues, so I tried a new approach. This time around, I recorded at a different studio and performed all the parts on the EP myself. I also got directly involved in editing the tracks for the first time, which took longer. Ultimately, though, I’m very happy with how the songs turned out. The EP doesn’t address the pandemic at all, but it’s very much a by-product of lockdown and what we all endured.”

‘When This Gets Out’ is available exclusively via Bandcamp. On October 1, the full ‘Drone Etiquette’ album will be released on CD and across all the usual online platforms. In the meantime, it can be pre-ordered at Bandcamp

CREDITS
Written and performed by Drew Forsberg
Drew Forsberg – Vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, drum programming
Recorded by August Ogren, The Terrarium
Mixed by Neil Weir, Blue Bell Knoll
Mastered by Bruce Templeton, Microphonic Mastering
Cover art by Jon Hunt

Enjoy their latest video from their previous album. Although perhaps not directly intended to relate to the Covid-19 lockdown period, it points to a very real issue with respect to the impact of the closure of businesses (and especially the entertainment / club / music industry):

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