Songs by the aptly named Leopold and His Fiction seem almost like short stories collected by an itinerant traveler hitchhiking his way across the country. With raspy narration by singer Daniel James, the music feels drenched in world-weary mystery, populated by the lonely souls who haunt empty bus stations, dusty back-road gas stations, and crumbling saloons.
The San Francisco-based band will make their way to PA’s Lounge tonight, a couple weeks after their SXSW showing. If there was a soundtrack to accompany the past leg of their US tour, Leopold and His Fiction would make a fitting house band for it. They play with a grittiness befitting the dusty Texan stretch out of Austin, and the rollicking “Ain’t No Surprise” would pair well with the fleeting views of the Smokey Mountains through the tree-lined Blue Ridge Parkway that winds its way to Asheville, NC.
Their new track “Golden Friends” has a slower, haunting feel, like a creeping car ride through darkly winding city streets, or perhaps a trip explored on foot while sneaking sideways glances at whiskey-breathed strangers. Stream “Golden Friends” below, leave a comment for a chance to win an exclusive limited edition tour single, and don’t miss an intimate performance by the band at PA’s Lounge tonight.