Their emotional new LP will be live on May 19th. The first single, ‘one last thing you never said‘ is out today.
It’s official, and we’re so happy to break the news: Leaving Laurel are adding to their story as a band. After their past EP fireflies (for as far as we could see), many hinted towards more music from Gordon Huntley and Griff Fulton, the two current members of the unique Anjunadeep duo. It was sure it’d be be far from an easy task for both: the former being past member and amazing artist Pierce Fulton‘s best friend, and the latter being Pierce’s brother. But against the tide, the feelings, memories, and the will to let their companion finish writing his musical poetry, the duo have announced they’ll be putting out an album.
One way or another, Leaving Laurel’s story and sound have always revolved around Pierce. When the duo came to life, with him being one half of the project, melodies and directions were driven by him. Now that he’s not with us anymore, his presence keeps on strong on the band’s style, not only due to LL keeping their sound true to their origins, but also due to several ideas and incomplete arrangements Fulton left behind.
when the quiet comes
The process of songwriting in Leaving Laurel’s upcoming album when the quiet comes is quite special: bits and pieces nearly lost to time, produced by either Pierce, Gordon, or both, have been brought back from the silence and given a name, a taste, a direction, and a goal. It’s a piece of art that will try to word what Pierce left unsaid when the quiet came for him. As Gordon puts it: “who do we become when we’re alone? When the story is over, and we’ve acknowledged the silence – that’s when the quiet comes“.
Huntley says the album was more than just that: it also gave his life meaning after losing his best friend. It served as a path to accept and live through grief, and also, ultimately, as a tribute to the life and legacy of Pierce.
While when the quiet comes will come out on May 19th, the first single, ‘one last thing you never said‘, is out now.
one last thing you never said
Leaving Laurel’s first lifted single truly feels like a tribute to dear artist Pierce Fulton. Just like a great guitarist is able to make their guitar speak, the boys here at LL have made the whole arrangement depict a story. The song is able to mouth words to you without having any lyrics.
Starting off with a sensitive piano line, almost like a walk in the woods alone trying to work out the greatest questions in life, the song slowly builds a story, nearly a monologue of some sort. The melancholic piano melody that follows drives you through deep feelings of all types, as the song elaborates around it, a melody repeating itself over and over.
With the song injecting its classic four-on-the-floor beat, present yet not overwhelming, tension builds up during the first six minutes, to then fade in a screechy broken tape of some sort. This is where the song takes a deeper turn. This is where you can feel the protagonist of the story fading away and leaving behind that one last thing they never said.
After the madness of said noise, it slowly goes out until all that’s left is background noise, and then the piano comes back, but it now feels different. Not only is it a different melody, it almost feels like a tale told by someone else different to who started depicting the picture during the first half of the song. And it ends in that aura, with those feelings, those thoughts. It’s much deeper than what I ever thought I’d receive when I first dove into the track. I guess that’s what makes Leaving Laurel so special and unique.
Final words
Stream ‘one last thing you never said’ on Spotify by clicking here. Also, head to the bottom of the article for the official music video. Click here to support the song any other way you’d like, and head over to the Anjunabeats music store to buy the single.
when the quiet comes will be released mid-May, but it’s already up for pre-save. Click here should you want to, and also to order a vinyl copy. Finally, go to whenthequietcomes.com to read more about the album and how it came to be, and sign up to LL’s newsletter.
