Perhaps we are enchanted and comforted by 8-bit music as a result of spending our childhoods trying to save The Princess or mastering Tetris (as though it was just an addictively good game rather than a Russian intelligence test), or perhaps some 8-bit music is just enchanting all on its own. Seattle-based Leeni is the epitome of 8-bit enchantment on 8-Bit Heart, her second full-length album. Her 80’s Nintendo Game Boy serves as a musical instrument on every song, but Leeni doesn’t rely on electronic gimmicks in her song composition; she instead uses her lush, gorgeous voice, Stephen Merrit-like lyrics and her skills at playing acoustic guitar and the ukulele to enchant us.
Leeni’s lyrical wit really shows itself in “Perfection Interrupted,” a string of cheeky insults, such as; “You’re like a sitcom’s lame substitute for vulgarity/You’re like a b-rate actor’s lack of sincerity.”
The only potential problem with 8-Bit Heart is that it has two speeds; slow and fast, and her faster songs might alienate people who don’t want to feel like Samus Aran in Metroid II combining a spin-jump with a Screw Attack. But on her slower songs her composition and vocal abilities are so haunting that someone who has never even seen a video game (if such a person exists) could fall for her music on these merits alone.
Leeni tours extensively in the Northwest and has been a top finalist in NW Source’s “People’s Pick” for the last two years. She is currently unsigned but this could change quickly if Stephen Colbert has any say in the matter. Leeni is, after all, touting herself as “Colbert Girl” and running a MySpace campaign for his presidency.
“Colbert Girl”
