LEAVS emerges as a compelling voice from the Spanish underground. Their debut album, Natura Universal, released under the wings of Softseed Music in collaboration with Through Love, Clever Eagle, Daydream, and Saltmarges, invites listeners on a journey through both the familiar and the unknown.
Riding the waves of shoegaze and dream-pop, their music carries a weight, a depth that is both expansive and introspective. Led by Adrià Cabrerizo, who you might recognize from the raw, visceral energy of Tropical Ice Land, LEAVS dives headfirst into the sonic ocean, unafraid of the depths they might encounter.
Natura Universal is a study in contrasts.
It’s an album that holds beauty and heaviness in a delicate balance, with each of its eight tracks offering a different shade of emotion. And you probably hear this a lot, and it might seem like a generic label for any emotional album, but you really need to listen to this one.
The opening single, “To Be Here, To Stay Here,” encapsulates the essence of the album.
A blend of lush, atmospheric textures with an undercurrent of something darker, something that speaks to the struggle of finding light in the midst of inner turmoil.
The album’s title itself is a nod to this delicate dance between nature and the human psyche.
Natura Universal suggests a connection that transcends the individual, a reminder that our minds are part of a larger, natural order.
The album cover, featuring the Clematis Vidalba plant reaching toward the sun, is a visual metaphor for the themes explored in the music. Just as the plant seeks light, so too does the album explore the human desire to find positivity and growth in moments of darkness.
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But LEAVS isn’t just about mood and atmosphere—they’re also about the craft.
The band, rounded out by Gerard Serrano, Jaume Casals, Jonay Mora, and Nina Montesó, brings a tight, cohesive energy to the record. The songs are smartly crafted, with each member contributing to a sound that feels both immediate and timeless.
The influences are clear—shoegaze, dream-pop, trip-hop, even the raw edge of blackgaze and punk, but LEAVS doesn’t mimic; they reinterpret, creating something uniquely their own. One of the best listens this month and one of the best offerings in shoegazin’ alt rock this year.
