Pray Following in the footsteps of fellow CHVRCHES band member Lauren Mayberry, who released a solo record called Vicious Creature during the band’s hiatus, Martin Doherty and longtime drummer of CHVRCHES Jonny Scott have created their own project known as The Leaving. Ultimate Buzz lives up to its name in more ways than one on The Leaving’s debut, as it creates a ton of hype around this project that quietly stormed onto the music scene with the singles of “Pray” and “Saved.” Fans of the main project of CHVRCHES will be immediately enamored with what Doherty and Scott have crafted with The Leaving on Ultimate Buzz. It’s an album that features thrilling and uplifting vocals, great professional production, and the incorporation of non-programmed drums gives the record a nice punch to it. Doherty leans on his extensive experience as a key contributor and co-vocalist in CHVRCHES to make an incredible artistic statement with The Leaving’s Ultimate Buzz.
”Atmosphere” kicks off the record with a solid combination of sultry vocals from Doherty while Scott’s unique drumming style meshes well with the overall synth-laden production. The song hits its lofty intentions with a guest vocal spot in the bridge that finds a female vocalist singing “Stay with me,” to bring more context surrounding the opener. “Flouxetine” was the latest single to be released from Ultimate Buzz and it features another great vocal performance from Doherty while the frenetic drumming from Scott keeps the energy going early. The use of autotune is prevalent throughout the verses, but it doesn’t detract from the songwriting quality and the overall likability of the material.
”Pray” was the first song I ever heard from The Leaving, and after listening to it from front to back, I knew this band was going to be special. The track features some great starts and stops to the tempo and it makes you feel the lyric in the hook of, “If you believe in a God what does that say? / Do you still pray?” The combination of speedy synths and a great beat from Scott wash over the listener like a crashing wave in a crowd-pleasing package.
”Speak” offers a brief reprieve in the set with some spoken words from a female voice in the mysterious interlude that bleeds into “Sing”. It’s on the latter that The Leaving prove that they can mix up their stylistic choices at ease and evoke the right emotions in their songs to make people believe in them, if not a higher purpose in their own lives. Doherty weaves his vocals over some keyboard parts that have no trouble brooding in the darkness. “Saved” on the other hand, is a banger of a track that recalls bands like NIN in its approach. It rocks similarly to classics like “Bite The Hand That Feeds” and is a club-ready anthem that is sure to take off when The Leaving approach it in the live setting.
”Cursed” feels a bit like a Linkin Park track with the near-rapped vocals from Doherty in the early going, paired with heavy production and an industrial-type of sound to showcase the full breadth of what The Leaving are capable of creating. “Creatures” features a steady beat from Scott, while Doherty’s pacing in the vocals is utterly captivating throughout the performance. “Ddust” closes out the first chapter of The Leaving that will hopefully continue to explore where they can take their sound next during lulls in CHVRCHES creative output as a collective unit. I’ve always considered side projects a healthy sign of a band wanting to explore creativity in multiple different ways, and it should make the next CHVRCHES record even stronger. The Leaving surely have created the Ultimate Buzz to start out their own path, and I look forward to seeing this band get their own space in the music world as well.