Flyleaf is a Christian post-grunge band out of Texas, US. They play a radio-friendly, cruisey brand of pop-metal, with strong lyrical themes of affirmation, credence, self-belief and vivacious gratitude for the joy of living.
They have undergone a bit of a change up of late, with star vocalist Lacey Sturn having announced she was leaving the outfit shortly before the release of their third album, “New Horisons” in October 2012.
Sturm was the soaring voice that brought Flyleaf to mainstream success with the powerful singles “All Around Me” off their 2005 debut, which climbed to No.40 in the Billboard Hot 100, “Again” off their second album Memento Mori (2009), and the title track off “New Horizons”, which bassist Pat Seals said describes looking towards an uncertain future with hope. He said it is one of Flyleaf’s best tracks to come out.
Kristen May took the reigns as the new lead vocalist after Sturm’s departure and has ushered the band into a new era.
Their latest album, “Between the Stars” released in September 2014, is testament to their talents as an outfit.
Their current configuration is May on lead vocals and keyboards, Seals on bass and backing vocals, Jared Hartmann on guitar, James Culpepper on drums and Sameer Bhattacharya on guitar, keyboards and piano.
The album was financed through PledgeMusic, a direct to fans crowd funding platform and May said it is the result of the mixed creative energies of herself and the rest band finding difficulties in moving forward after Sturm having left and May’s previous band breaking up. The key theme of the album, like that “New Horisons” preceding it, is triumphing in the face of adversity, of retaining composure in periods of uncertainty and of staying true to one’s faith throughout.
While the transition into the new arrangement with May as the lead vocalist was not spotless – many fans were shocked and had doubts about May being “Christian” enough, due to her efforts to reach out to the broader scene – they have pulled together and put out perhaps their greatest achievement yet and stayed true to the morals for which they are known.
In its first week, “Between the Stars” reached No.33 on the Billboard 200 chart. It is proof that even after the challenge of losing its lead singer, Flyleaf have the strength and endurance to carry on making great music that connects with their fans.
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