After the volatile set of indie rock that was 2016's Grapefruit, Manchester, England's
Kiran Leonard returns a year later with
Derevaun Seraun, a chamber work for voice, piano, and string trio. His third album overall, it's presented in five movements, each inspired by a different work of literature. Simply put by the songwriter, it's "about five books that I like and why I like them." Consequently, tracks carry titles like "A Particle of Flesh Refuses the Consummation of Death" (about Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer) and "The Cure for Pneumothorax." The latter refers to the poetry of Manuel Bandeira, a 20th century Brazilian poet who often wrote about illness and the fragility of the human body, among other recurring themes. On a similar note, "Living with Your Ailments" is
Leonard's tribute to Albert Camus' essay "The Myth of Sisyphus." After an intro, it settles into a repeated polyrhythmic piano motif that's punctuated by strings. When
Leonard's voice eventually enters, it’s gleeful: "I could not believe my luck/I cannot believe it still/I don't have to take my life for ontology/I can just be mortal, godless, and free." The seven-and-a-half-minute track moves through reflective passages but keeps returning to lively moments of revelation. The album's title,
Derevaun Seraun, is taken from "Eveline," part of James Joyce's Dubliners and also the subject of the yearning opening track "Could She Still Draw Back?" Throughout the movements, listeners are treated to theatrical, emotive piano and vocal performances from
Leonard, who brings a sense of recklessness and spontaneity to all his releases thus far, including this one. ~ Marcy Donelson