If you’re in the market for a bombastic piece of stadium-sized electro pop with massive reverbs, pounding grooves, eclectic tones, and a retro feel so modern it sits on the cutting edge of tomorrow, the Genuine Leather’s latest single might be just what you’re looking for.
The solo project of Austin, Texas-based singer and songwriter Chris Galis, Genuine Leather is a vehicle of creativity that boasts of a sound so fresh it’s dizzying. ‘Even If I Could’, saved on Galis’s phone as “Phil Collins song”, is Genuine Leather’s latest release. A piece of pounding electronica with impassioned singing, metallic, sleepy pads, stabby and electrifying synth, and a Collins-meets-M83 vibe that got our collective jaws on the floor.
The tasty reverbs that populate the song are complemented by Galis’s charismatic delivery, restrained but flamboyant on the contemplative verses, bombastic and jubilant on the outstanding chorus. The largely one-chord-based progression and simplistic but monstrous beats make the chorus pop out even more with its soaring vocals and larger-than-life synth pads. A tortured -and delicious- guitar solo near the end makes it clear that ‘Even If I Could’ has a creative vision standing behind it, not just electrified nostalgia.
This is a song perfect for a fast drive through some neon-lit streets of a cyberpunk city with flying cars and stuff… or that’s how it made me feel as I had it on repeat for roughly 24 minutes. Totally dazzling.