LÉON
Boot & Saddle – Philadelphia, PA
February 2nd, 2017
BY: CLARE THOMPSON
Music is nothing without emotion, and Léon’s songs are full of nothing but. The 23-year-old Swedish songstress achieves a sound that is both empathetic and empowering. Her first tour in the US took its second stop at South Philly’s Boot & Saddle, a 150 person max, one room, hole in the wall venue.
In my experience, it will always be the newer, smaller artists who play the best shows. With only an EP and a handful of singles to date (she has since released another EP), Léon covered all of her indie-pop fan favorites from her opening with “Think About You” to closing with “Tired of Talking”. She paired this with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” which lent itself perfectly to her soulful voice and the intimate space, leaving the audience with chills. She brings an old sound new life with topics to which any twenty-something can relate.
Léon proved as well that she truly is tired of talking, as the title of the song she was discovered on, states. Her only backstory came before “Liar” when she explained the song came to be after she was a few bottles of wine deep with a good friend, “And then we were just both sitting there crying and drunk." But she doesn’t need to give much of an explanation for one to understand the substance of her songs. She plays around with recurring themes of late nights toying with drunken emotions, messing around in a space that’s both dark but not too serious. She doesn’t sugarcoat romance, and makes it clear she’s been through some adversity.
Better than hearing her velvety rich vocals and dark, unashamedly truthful lyrics live, was seeing Léon’s face light up as the audience sang along to each of her tracks. With a flip of her shiny locks, a genuine smile spread across her face as she realized the tune would still carry through the crowd whether she sang it or not. There are few things as satisfying as feeling the bond with an artist as they are just finding their footing. I’m sure that the sweet and sultry Léon has a future as bright as the sparkling lights spelling her name across the stage.
Clare Thompson is from the same burbs of Philly as contributor Bobby Van Leer. After spending her college days at Pitt, she has returned to her preferred Pennsylvania city. By day she works in sales in advertising specialties, designing and selling tricked out promotional products, and by night she enjoys discovering new music (duh). Her musical tastes come from fifteen years of dancing competitively in every different style, allowing her the ability to appreciate everything from classical to trap. But not country. Never country. After spending inordinate amounts of time creating playlists per the request of friends and coworkers, and sharing song after song with fellow music lovers, she hopes that by contributing, she can expose some talented new artists to a wider audience.