Full Review

Andrew Leahey & The Homestead, Until There’s Nothing But Air Review

Andrew Leahey is a singer/songwriter who uses his musical gift to express himself and his triumph over cancer. In 2013, Leahey’s passion for music was interrupted with the possibility of untimely death — or possibly the loss of his hearing. The only option was brain surgery to remove a life-threatening tumor from his hearing nerve. Leahey recalls, “Driving to the hospital with my wife the morning of the operation, I put on Lightning 100 in Nashville. Petty’s ‘Face in the Crowd’ was on the radio, and it hit me hard—the production was so enveloping, and I was really cognizant of the different instruments coming from the left and right speakers. It was a gorgeous, lush, layered sound. I wanted so badly to be able to wake up after the operation and still hear music with the same appreciation I had at that moment.” Thankfully for Leahey, the procedure was a success, his hearing was unfazed, and, after a long recovery, he remains cancer-free. The experience redefined what playing music meant to him. “I nearly lost my ability to make, hear and appreciate music, and that inevitably changes you,” he says. “As I got healthier, I was drawn to writing songs that celebrated life. Songs that sounded as huge and immediate as the songs I heard on the radio as a boy in 1989, which is why we called the new album Airwaves.” Leahey is now releasing his latest single titled, “Until There’s Nothing But Air.”

Bottom Line: “Until There’s Nothing But Air” was written from the perspective of someone watching a couple’s breakup from the outside, but on the other hand, it could also be about watching the breakup of our entire democracy. Just watching it “burn until there’s nothing but air.” Watching the breakup of families, friends, and communities – wishing we could say the right thing to save them but knowing that we’ve all mostly just run out of things to say. The Nashville, TN based vocalist has a smart blend of well-written lyrics and catchy melodies that flow through rock & roll sounds. The guitar-driven honesty of the frontman, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, contemporary guitar hero and award-winning music journalist instantly grabs your attention and holds it. The multi-layers of guitars set the stage for Leahey & The Homestead to tell us the story. The song flows through a solid form of ebbs and flows. The melody is catchy and surrounded by well-recorded instruments mixed in a balanced and musical manner. The guitar solo is melodic and based upon the melody. The bridge brings in fresh harmony as it builds back to the chorus. Leahey is a beautiful songwriter, and his passion for life and music can be heard in every note he plays and sings. That’s the short of it!