LOST LEADERS
Lost Leaders
Lost Leaders

www.lostleaders.net
 

Lost Leaders is a trio of Byron Isaacs, Peter Cole and Justin Guip. Isaacs and Cole split the songwriting almost evenly on the set’s ten songs. Guip is engineer.

Isaacs, a veteran of Ollabelle and assorted other projects plays bass, lap steel and guitars. Cole adds guitars too and Guip is the percussionist. Keys and horns flesh the sound played by friends and guests. Throughout the band’s performances are crisp and to the point, nothing wasted or extra. The band has an appealing brashness that exudes confidence.

Byron’s “Horizontal Man” is a brisk opener with crunchy chording quickly joined by horns snagging the ear as the song limns an apolitical blues. His “The Line The Lie” is a haunted, lonely post break-up song that would have fit perfectly in Showtime’s The Affair series. Peter’s “I’m Gonna Win” sounds like the song’s protagonist is trying fiercely to convince himself and feels a tad nervous.

And so it goes through the ten songs here as Isaacs and Cole offer sharply drawn slices of life. There’s almost always a welcome underpinning of hope, even when the song is a bit grim.

Lost Leaders recorded the album in Woodstock where Ollabelle was based and where Byron became bassist in Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble house band. He comes by the economy that drives the band’s work naturally. They always serve the songs first.

I am hoping to see Lost Leaders play live. I expect a fun, engaging show. Their album is a strong introduction.

— Michael Tearson