An infectiously percussive, extremely rhythmic bedroom indie-pop track built around choppy acoustic guitar and minimal accompaniment, Leafboy’s new single, Dance Baby, is a musical phenomenon.
An incredible, inspiring example of how to accomplish a lot with relatively little. As the song begins, it becomes instantly apparent that the acoustic strums and bass notes form both the beat and the melody simultaneously. Later in the song, additional layers are introduced – synths, keys and atmospherics – along with lots of other vocal elements, and the whole thing blends seamlessly together to make something very, very impressive indeed. Taking shape gradually, like a photograph developing in a darkroom, this is obscenely clever stuff.
A multi-instrumentalist who has been releasing music under this name since 2021, Leafboy (real name Alec Portnay) also serves as producer, bringing his artistic vision to fruition from idea to reality. The whole thing is ultimately rounded off with a star turn from Elie Wunder on saxophone, who also contributed to the prior single “kit kat clock” (which Will reviewed). A delightful cherry on top of a particularly delicious prospect, Portnay really knows how to put a tune together.
Dance Baby is taken from a forthcoming EP, BONES, which will be released later this year.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
