Illegal Leather

Reviews

Illegal Leather Raw Meat LP

Anyone who has followed Marco Palumbo’s exploits over the past couple of decades with his bands the GAGGERS, DISCO LEPERS, and others, knows that the London frontman has mastered the art of crafting catchy ’70s-style garage bangers, and ILLEGAL LEATHER’s cold and caustic sound pulls this classic energy into the modern age. Equipping their simple and snotty approach with digital drums and dual male/female vocals, the band makes some of the least boring pop music ever to dabble in the realms of “new wave,” keeping it urgent and never crossing into “cute.” Right from the mechanical melancholy of the anthemic opening track, I can’t help but be reminded of the SPITS. It’s timeless style delivered with machine precision and a fun sci-fi edge, grounded firmly in reality by the gun-toting gimp who graces the cover.

Illegal Leather Hate Crime / We Don’t Sleep 7″

At it’s core, this 7″ is as hardcore as hardcore can be, but there are lot of elements of industrial music, too. ILLEGAL LEATHER really strikes a good balance with just enough blasting out of their recordings to still kick a lot of ass. There are some moments where you can hear the Oi! punk influence shine bright. The vocals really do sound like they would fit well on a CRASS or DAMNED record. The industrial instrumentation sounds a lot like SPECIAL INTEREST or ZEIGENBOCK KOPF. Check this one out, it does not disappoint!