South London’s Leg Puppy are a band like no other – listen to their latest offering, Non Disclosure Agreement and you’ll see what I mean. Electro-dance-punk/multi-media kind of describes them but they can also be called experimental and somewhat of an enigma. Comprised of Darren Laurence aka Oogan (songwriter, synths, drum machines, sampler, vocalist), Bev Edmonson aka Booby (vocals, keyboards), Vaat Dafaq (guitars) and Simon James aka Hugo Bamoboo (clown), they are also joined on several tracks by Voi Vang.
The album, their second, offer a satirical attack on the modern world, with particular reference to the dangers found in social media and politics. The sometimes blistering attack on use of social media doesn’t prevent them from using the medium to promote themselves and their music so I guess everything in moderation, right? Developers, corporate bodies and wealthy business men using NDA’s (hence the title) also come in for a not so subtle dig.
The opening track, ‘Truth‘ leads with a clip of Peter Hain talking about the use of NDA’s in a parliamentary speech before leaving us to a thought provoking multi media experience that swirls around the concept of NDA’s and their use – the sounds juxtapose against the use of silence in NDA’s and I came away asking myself what is truth?
‘Speak, Talk, Speak‘ is the stand out track for me. Text speak used as speech overlays a thoughtful musical back drop, detailing everyday occurrences such as chipped nails, tube announcements, have a nice day, all in the voice of what could easily be Alexa. Orwell’s 1984 and Big Brother hangs like a shadow over this track and you half expect room 101 to arrive at any minute. Or perhaps we’re already in room 101 and we don’t know it yet.
The variously wonderful and disturbing world of social media is visited by ‘Twit Machine‘, where the dangers of social media addiction are mercilessly laid out. Modern living and the ever evolving face of technology has led us to this path – the music questions whether or not this is the correct path. Of course, in an album like this there are no easy answers given.
‘Corgi Stop‘, the penultimate track disrupts the flow of the album with a divertingly slower, more haunting sound, laid against the music of Jerusalem. The last track, ‘NDA‘, brings the sounds of the album together in a barnstorming end. All the differing beats and sounds join to make a satisfying end to the weird and wonderful journey that is Leg Puppy’s second album. Leg Puppy are refreshingly different to anything else I’ve heard for a while, proving that individuality is alive and well in the music business. You just have to look.
As befits such an individual sounding band, Leg Puppy’s advice for aspiring musicians is to “be yourself, don’t try to sound like anyone else.”
Non Disclosure Agreement was released on 21 June on LP Records. Get your copy here.
Catch Leg Puppy live through to April 16th. Or if you can’t make it, follow him at:
