We had the pleasure of interviewing Max Leone over Zoom video!
After inciting widespread critical buzz and fan anticipation, up-and-coming songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Max Leone reveals his debut EP, Malleable, today alongside a new video for track from the project “Escape”. The Clyde Munroe directed video is a dark and stylistic representation of the emotions that Max expresses throughout the lyrics of the new track. Released via Darkroom Records, the EP is out now at all digital retailers, watch the video for “Escape” above or listen to the full project HERE.
Boasting a bevy of fan favorite tunes, the nine-track EP taps into every facet of Max’s enigmatic alternative approach to pop. On “in case (there’s a change of heart),” dusty acoustic guitar creaks underneath his untouched vocal delivery as he confesses, “I’m just online pretending I’m fine, in case there’s a change of heart.” Piano upholds the cinematic “Escape” as he observes, “I sit and watch the fire burn and, suddenly, the lines are blurred,” while his falsetto pierces head-turning lines such as, “My head is on a swivel.” He paved the way for the EP with the latest single “untitled” last week.
Prior to release, tracks from the EP have gathered a total of X streams to date. Among other highlights, V Magazine touted “the craziest thing I’ve ever done” in “V’s New Music Round-Up” and went on to claim, “This lo-fi cinematic song almost feels anti-pop, going against the grain of fleetingly cheerful melodies for a darker energy.” Further praise followed from ThisSongIsSick, The Interns, and more.
Breaking all boundaries, Max Leone makes pop Malleable…
Leone has quietly emerged as a tastemaker-adored alternative pop outlier. PAPER extolled “First Grade” as “a real winner,” and Billboard crowned him “a Gen Z bedroom pop star.” Pigeons & Planes predicted, “Leone is creating the kind of compelling pop music that feels new and exciting, but also wouldn’t be out of place on the radio or Billboard charts.” Leone closed out 2020 with “5,” a September release that “perfectly inhabits an authentic, alternative pop space,” according to Ones To Watch. Also last year, Leone earned buzz for tracks like “Malleable” (a July release that prompted The Line of Best Fit to praise him as a “lo-fi pop troubadour”), “The Beach” (an Alexander 23-produced song that drew acclaim from NME, who noted his “genuine raw talent”), and “Cautious” (a single quickly added to Triple J rotation and supported by BBC Radio 1).
ABOUT MAX LEONE:
Born and raised in Portland, Max Leone took up guitar at the age of seven, and later began experimenting with violin, drums, and piano. He soon started composing his own material and playing in jazz bands, in addition to teaching himself music production and posting his remixes to SoundCloud. Although his tremendous passion for music eventually led him to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music as a guitar principal, Leone left the school after one year and relocated to Los Angeles to pursue music full-time. Soon after signing with Darkroom Records, he made his label debut with “First Grade” — a January 2020 release that quickly garnered praise from outlets like Hillydilly. With singles such as “Malleable” and “The Beach” winning further acclaim, Leone will deliver his debut EP in 2021.
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