leather sheets - officer's mess

Leather Sheets

Officer's Mess
self-released; 2013

3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Leather Sheets is a three-piece band that recently released an EP entitled Officer’s Mess, which combines blues, rock and some heartfelt female vocals that leave you tingling. The songs aren't particularly earth shattering and don't delve into experimental territory but they don't need to. What you do get is solid songwriting, shredding guitar solos and the right amount of attitude that makes these songs work. 

The album starts off with one of the highlights of the album called “Bryan.” This is a backdoor blues number that showcases the singer’s sultry yet powerful voice that commands the song. It’s a subdued song instrumentally but it only gives more room for the vocalist to play around. She goes up a couple of octave ranges in the song displaying her dynamic capabilities. 

“Delayed Gratification” picks things up and combines Zeppelin-inspired guitar riffs with some of that sweet cowbell. It’s a solid rock song that has an impressive if somewhat standard guitar solo. “Your Sister” is another rock-blues number while “Fall With Me” is the first song in which they decide to take their foot off of the distortion pedal.

The last song is called “Robert Smith,” which may be in reference to the musician. I guessing so when she sings “I could be the cure for you / could you be the cure for me.” The song is the most inventive on the album and has a solid bass. I think they could have rocked it out a bit more but what are you gonna do. 

This is a solid album. The songs won't blow your mind away or have you rethink a new way about music but it’s worth a spin. 

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