Leftovers

"IT MAY BE THAT EVERYTHING ENDS" is the title of the new and third album by the Viennese overdrive madness band Leftovers. A good title that certainly does not apply to the band itself, which has matured in the best possible way with this album – while still burning brightly. Author Eric Pfeil recently wrote a hymn to the romantic idea of the band as a gang of friends in a column for "Rolling Stone." According to Pfeil, a rock band is a "breeding ground for nonsense" with "flickering ambitions," and starting one counts "among the most meaningful endeavors for young people."

Perhaps Eric Pfeil was thinking of the Viennese band Leftovers when he penned this passionate appeal. What it means to shake the world with friends is something Leftovers has been celebrating in an electrifying way for three albums now. The new album, "IT MAY BE THAT EVERYTHING ENDS," released on October 11, 2024, is now more than ever the 'everyone-does-everything album' of this band – and thus the most collaborative Leftovers music to date. All four have written lyrics, sung, and everything blends together and reinforces each other. Often, you don't know who is singing or doing whatever, but that doesn't matter: Everything on this astonishingly stunning album is Leftovers.

The perhaps not so surprising, by no means self-evident aspect of this is that Anna Grob, Leon Eder, Leonid Sushonund, and Alex Waismayer, whose names we will write out just this once before we refer to them again as Anna, Leon, Leonid, and Alex, are indeed four highly different individuals. They feel, perceive, dream, and yes: are different. But that is precisely the point! Their diversity makes Leftovers not only greater than the sum of its parts but unbeatable. "We worked for the songs, not for our egos," says Alex.

On "TIRED," Leftovers sang in 2023 about chronic overwhelm, panic attacks, toxic relationships, and other adolescent disasters; now they have taken another step forward. "IT MAY BE THAT EVERYTHING ENDS" is about the power of community, about uplifting each other in dark times, about the longing for love and the absence of it. During the production, there were separations, new bonds formed, and others stabilized, all of this naturally against the backdrop of the great global crises.

Initially, the band didn't even want to record a new album this year. Not again! After countless concerts and two albums in as many years, they wanted to take things a bit easier. Maybe release one or two EPs, perhaps drop a song here and there, just put out what was finished. But things turned out quite differently: "We talked to colleagues, and they said, 'Real bands make albums, not EPs,'" says drummer Leon, "we embraced that attitude."

Still, this music is akin to a catharsis, chronically overdriven, sometimes noisy to the point of pain. The lyrics fluctuate between utility poetry, DADA, and punk, making them as immediate as the music. So far, so Leftovers. However, you can also hear that the band has worked more thoroughly on these rich, profound pieces than ever before. "The demands on our own music have grown," confirms Leon. It fits that Leftovers engaged in a truly collaborative effort with not just one but two producers (Georg Gabler, Sven Regener) for the first time.

Leftovers have grown up. In the best and most mature way. "It may be that everything ends"? Sure, at any moment. But for the group Leftovers from Vienna, it's just getting started.