The Dead Leaves was an Australian
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band formed in 2011. Their line up consisted of vocalist/guitarist
Matt Joe Gow, guitarist Andrew Pollock, bassist Cameron Grindrod, keyboardist Clio Renner, drummer Joel Witenberg and vocalists Gin Wigmore and Emma Louise. The band was based in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia, although Joe Gow is from
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
The core of the group had initially formed to serve as a backing band on Matt Joe Gow's solo album ''
The Messenger'', released through
Liberation Music
Liberation Music is an Australian record company and label, started in 1999 by Michael Gudinski and Warren Costello, based in Melbourne. Its stated aim is to find, nurture and then to develop new talent for a world market while remaining inde ...
. Produced by
Nash Chambers
Nash Chambers (born 8 May 1974, Mount Gambier) is an Australian record producer, talent manager, audio engineer and multi-instrumentalist. He is a former member of the family country music group, Dead Ringer Band (1986–98), with his father Bil ...
, the album features instrumental contributions from
Jim Moginie
James Moginie (born 18 May 1956) is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he is a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter.
Career
In addition to Midnight Oil, Moginie has wor ...
and Bill Chambers. The singles from the album, "
Come What May" and "The Light" went on to receive international airplay. ''The Messenger'' is, however, considered as predominantly a solo work.
The group's 2012 album ''Cities on the Sea'' (released in February 2012, produced by Scott Horscroft and Eric J Dubowsky) is regarded as their first and only official album. The album marks a change in direction from any previous solo material due to the numerous artists featuring and the groups' creative input.
In 2014 the band entered an indefinite hiatus due to the many competing and successful solo projects from members of the project. Matt Joe Gow continued to focus on his solo work alongside Pollock, whilst Louise, Wigmore and Renner all went on to release multiple solo albums. Joel Witenberg formed New York based indie band 'Surf Rock Is Dead'. When interviewed in 2019 Joe Gow stated that the album was a "special moment in time" but would not be repeated.
References
Sources
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External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dead Leaves
Australian indie rock groups