The Persian Leaps: 3 Facts You Need to Know About Our New Album Pop That Goes Crunch

Minnesota trio The Persian Leaps combine indie rock beats with the magnetic power of pop to create a blazing sound that undeniably commands attention.

Formally established in 2012, The Persian Leaps have pumped out a slew of concise yet dynamic EPs in the years since. However, they only just dropped their first full-length, titled Pop That Goes Crunch, and it will appeal to both new and long-time fans alike.

The band revealed some important facts about the album to Musical Notes Global. Check them out below!

Pop That Goes Crunch is an 18-song anthology that collects our favorite tracks from the singles and EP's we’ve released since 2012. The name comes (with permission) from a blog/radio show of the same name (popthatgoescrunch.com) that covered our releases early on. When I heard the phrase, I thought it was the perfect description of what our songs sound like and I added it to my list of possible release titles. It evokes the crunchy guitar riffs of power pop bands I love like Big Star, The Posies, The Raspberries, and more. That said, I actually tried to avoid the “power pop” label for our first couple releases, even though I love the genre. I described our sound as “noise pop” (like the festival), but no one was convinced. Some people probably laughed when I pretentiously claimed that we sounded like “Big Star meets My Bloody Valentine!”. Ultimately, I’ve accepted that “power pop” (or “jangle pop”) is a fair description of what we do, and the album title choice reflects that.

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Pop That Goes Crunch marks the end of what I like to think of as Persian Leaps 2.0. The first version was just me recording songs to a 4-track - and later, a computer - for about 15 years starting in the mid-90s. The second version started in 2012 when I worked up the courage to form a band. We released five EPs over five years and had some great times, but in 2017 we decided we’d better retire as a live, full band. It’s the usual tale of family and other priorities taking precedence over music. So, we recorded one last song together -- ”Time Slips,” the single from the new album -- and parted as friends. The next phase will be a return to the roots of the Persian Leaps with me pursuing a solo, studio project approach. My friend, Jon Hunt (who’s designed the cover art for several of our releases) is playing bass and singing backup while I do the rest. We’ve already recorded basic tracks for 10 out of 11 songs. Look for the full-length of all new material in the fall of 2019!

The album is all about second chances. We haven’t changed stylistically much over 5 years, but I’ve definitely gotten more confident as a singer, guitar player, arranger, and recording studio user. Rather than just grab digital files for 17 old songs and slap them on a CD with “Time Slips,” I wanted to see if I could improve some of the songs, especially in a few cases where I wasn’t completely happy with the results the first time around. So, I redid my lead vocals and main guitar parts on several of the songs to capture stronger performances. The differences might not be apparent to most people--in fact, maybe I primarily did it for myself--but I think the results are stronger. If you haven’t listened to the Persian Leaps before, this album would be a great starting point. It’s your second chance to hear our best songs for the first time!

Stream Pop That Goes Crunch below.