All leather

The latest fractured musical experience from the fractured mind of Justin Pearson is All Leather.
Comprised of Justin on vocals, Nathan Joyner of Some Girls fame on guitars, and Jung Sing of Manqui Lazer on drums, All Leather is dance music with a difference.
Working in a gay bar in San Diego, Mr. Pearson would hear track after track of insipid electronica. One day, amidst all of this testosterone and bad sequencing, an idea was born.
Taking elements from the electronic music dance world, and then adding in a live drummer with an electric kit and lots of "noise rock aesthetic", All Leather was conceived.
The end result, to me, sounds like club music produced at some venue in a dayglo section of hell, where the denizens are skinned alive and pumped full of amphetamines.
The guitar textures are so heavily processed as to barely resemble a guitar most of the time, and the drum set is electronic, which adds an extra grating quality to the proceedings.
Fans of the Locust might be surprised at the relative simplicity of the result, but therein lies its strength. All Leather's straightforward approach complements its musical intent in the same way that the Locust utilizes intensive complexity to achieve its ends.
Justin and company's musical instincts are dead on, especially considering the lack of formal schooling. I have been teaching for a long time and have never encountered "self-made" musicians whose innate musicality was so high. If only everyone were this naturally musical.
One thing that everyone will relate to is the subversive political agenda. In the course of my interview for this review, I was given to understand that JP has been involved in multiple grassroots organizations, well before he started playing music.
Lyrics like "Can we drain the oceans for some real estate and then jerk off to some aspirations?" show quite clearly that the protest spirit is alive and well.
As Justin was quick to point out, the politics are about the "not so obvious" agenda, more to the point of supporting humanity in general. All Leather are not a gay rights band, nor is the band gay. But the sense of commonality they share with the rest of humanity in these increasingly desperate times provides some hope for us all.
There will be an e.p. released around June 1st on Dim Mak recordings, and as for the future of the band, there is "no clue."

check em out at www.myspace.com/allleather