Press for "Curious Tourist":

"Genres are okay if you like that sort of thing, but the danger of getting too attached to them, at least for the artist looking to be truly creative, is that you might find yourself toeing the line, following the rules, adhering to the fads, the fashions and just becoming part of the pack. I always find the most exciting music is made on the fringes, at the liminal points where one sound or style washes up against another. And where the shimmering world of shoegazery ebbs and flows across the pop divide, that’s where you find Leah Callahan.

Curious Tourist is a gorgeous album; there is no other word for it. Well, there are probably loads, but that is the one that I’m going for. Ten songs that are driven by the same infectiousness and addictions of the best pop music but fashioned from more deft sonic materials. The guitars coil and spiral around more robust riffs, bass lines add both melodic texture and rhythmic groove and the drums are unfussy, concise and brilliantly to the point.

“Ordinary Face” seems to wander between alt-rock modernity and 60s psychedelic, chamber-pop moods. “Wish” jangles and jives with Byrdsian vibes (and therefore so too those of later imitators such as The Darling Buds and The Primitives). “Nowhere Girl” is a potential chart-botherer, all gloss and sophistication, chiming textures and svelt tones. On reflection, its charms would probably go over the average pop-picker’s head, but that is their loss.

As a more observant writer than I once pointed out, Leah Callahan makes albums in an age where albums are not very much in style and Curious Tourist is a musical journey and all that such an odyssey entails rather than merely a bunch of songs. And that is about as high praise as you can give someone in this short attention span, throw-away age."
Big Takeover
bigtakeover.com/recordings/leah-callahan-curious-tourist-self-released


"Still channeling The Glass Set’s The Sundays and My Bloody Valentine vibes, Bostonian singer-songwriter Leah Callahan continues the musical journey under her own name. The fourth album since leaving behind the group she once fronted in the mid 2000s, Callahan works hand-in-hand with foil Chris Stern of The Sterns fame. A fan of Callahan’s former band, Stern’s congruous contributions including co-writing, arranging, producing and playing a number of instruments on Curious Tourist: a title that more or less sums up both partners on this songbook’s exploration and revival of various music scenes and sounds; like a re-energized flick back through the record collection, picking out and giving a contemporary take on the new wave, power pop, C86, alt-synth-pop, shoegaze and Britpop genres.

Callahan’s voice has already been compared to a female Morrissey, whilst the flange reverberations and chimes of Johnny Marr’s guitar riffs can be heard ringing out across a number of the tracks on the newest album. But I also detect more modern echoes of the Sparrow & The Workshop’s Jill O’ Sullivan and a touch of LoveLikeFire. However, every track seems to take a different turn from the one before; from the cathedral organ intro that soon turns into an indie anthem of languid yearned vocals and strings – evoking both Lush and Echobelly – ‘Nowhere Girl’, to the indie-country espionage merger of Howling Bells, Interpol and Blondie ‘No One’. Those Western twangs are made even more obvious and atmospheric on the next song and title track, with rattle snake tambourine shakes, cinematic vistas and melting heat mirage guitar bends and tremolo – imagine a more subtle Heartless Bastards. Taking yet another turn on the highroad, ‘Ordinary Face’ was written as an answer to the Bronski Beat’s ‘Smalltown Boy’, but I’m picking up Beatles and early Floyd, mixed with 90s Dubstar, light psych-pop vibes.

Often such pick ‘n’ mix attempts can sound incoherent and incongruous, but Callahan and Stern make each excursion their own; keeping a momentum and signature that is all theirs. I hope Callahan stays “curious”.
Monolith Cocktail
monolithcocktail.com/2024/04/17/the-digest-for-april-2024-new-music-in-brief-the-social-playlist-archives/

"Boston indie singer Leah Callahan has picked an apt title for her new album, Curious Tourist. She started out as New Wave artist, but she loves to explore (and master) other genres as well. In the title track she brushes shoulders with late night jazz, Ordinary Face is a spot-on baroque pop song, and she gets the party started with a slice of country in Nowhere Girl. Bubblegum pop for grown ups can be found in Super. Fellow Bostonians Pixies get a nod with a hint of surf in Social Climber. The album's sole cover, You Don't Love Me (No No No), is turned into late night jazz meets ska song.

Callahan is like a kid in a candy store, who can't settle for just a couple of treats, but that is not a problem at all. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she created an album where each song could have been a single. Don't sleep on the piano ballad Duras or the post-progressive instrumental All's Fair in War as the dark horse to be cherished by serious music fans and adventurous DJ's who don't give a fuck about corporate formats."
Here Comes the Flood
www.herecomestheflood.com/2024/04/leah-callahan-curious-tourist.html


"There is no shortage of ideas on Leah Callahan's new album Curious Tourist. These ideas are primarily artistically vague, full of metaphors, almost dream-like in their hazy delivery, but are served alongside tight-as-a-knot indie rock that piques the spirit with its winsome ways ... Curious Tourist marks Callahan's fourth solo album, and on it, she proves an entertaining and idiosyncratic host.

Sound-wise, "Curious Tourist" lands us directly in the 90s, with studio-recorded indie rock unencumbered by over-production or toyed with too much; just a band playing some nice melodic songs. But underneath the innocuously sweet tones, Callahan reveals a writer of depths, offering a narrative voice to guide her emotionally propelled songs.

The opening track, "Nowhere Girl," establishes the recurring themes of ostracism and ambition that play out throughout the collection. "You didn’t care / About what they all thought of you / They made you promise you'd get somewhere." Thankfully, the weighty subject is served alongside soaring guitar lines, key arpeggios, and dulcet vocals. It's reminiscent of The Beautiful South's easy-going but high-brow guitar-based pop. And while Callahan's tunes are poppy, they also possess an off-kilter, punky charm, as found on the album's standout tracks "No One", "Ordinary Face", and "Wish"; a sweet cut with a chipper riff that could perk up the wettest blanket.

The cover art for "Curious Tourist" features a photograph by Emmanuel Codden. The picture, in stark black and white, displays a street with whimsically costumed paraders looking in various directions. The cover embodies the music's nostalgically timeless feel, achieved via alternative rock just as hellbent on being radio-friendly as it is original. For example, the title track opens with a funky-stern naked beat crying out to be sampled, exotic production flourishes, sweeping strings, Mediterranean-warm key changes, and intoxicating singing. Meanwhile, "Super", with its sardonic words ("Mood swings a bitch/My birth was a glitch") is offset by a sing-alongable "oh ya" chorus.

In "Social Climber," Callahan shows her grit and her views on traditional ideas of success, but also the more vindictive side of her personality ("They all acted so superior / Now their lives are so much drearier than mine.") Perhaps this sensitivity to how society views us is where Callahan gets all the gusto from, perhaps she's singing to herself. In any case, it's a good songwriter who can invite psychoanalysis through the admission of murkier recess in the mind.

"All's Fair in War", a solid and rockingly upbeat tune replete with melodic piano lines, whammy-bar guitar strikes, and pulsating rhythms, is interestingly left instrumental. This track acts as somewhat of a breather from Callahan's often heady songs about the pains of fitting in. Ending on an introspective note, the piano balladry of "Duras" is close and intimate, while the closing track, a cover of "You Don't Love Me (No No No)," feels like an encore more than part of the set; not that there's anything wrong with that.

Curious Tourist by Leah Callahan is a fetching and unique album, notable for the genuine personality that comes through in the songcraft. Callahan wears her heart on her sleeve, unashamedly and crucially so. Whereas most modern artists who try to emulate the purity of 90s music end up creating a pastiche, Callahan has the credentials and experience to ensure there's a timeless quality to her songs that express strong ideas on the power of individuality."
No Transmission
www.notransmission.com/2024/04/leah-callahan-curious-tourist-album.html


"The album is billed as a trip from the golden era of Britpop through to the current shoegaze revival, albeit through the eyes of an anglophile. I’ll say from the outset, after having reviewed Leah’s word over the last few years and having early access to this album, it’s not only her strongest set of songs to date but it’s also the best vocally too. That said, a lot of credit also needs to go to her collaborators producer Richard Marr and songwriter Chris Stern who she’s worked very closely with on this project."

"Curious Tourist opens with the magnificent Nowhere Girl, a song the artist describes as a piece of nouveau-shoegaze’, a genre Callahan played within the mid-00s with her band The Glass Set, and which she confesses was ubiquitous in her musical upbringing. Callahan explains: “Although early on I was primarily an experimental musician, shoegaze or dream pop has always kind of been there in the background. My 90s bands played on stages with groups such as Slipstream and Medicine, and I shared a practice space with the Swirlies. So it was impossible not to have that rub off on me.” What struck me about Nowhere Girl is the way it opens with a warm swell of instrumentation, not unlike Flaming Lips, inviting you into the record and beginning the journey you will be on for the next 45 minutes."
Louder Than War
louderthanwar.com/leah-callahan-curious-tourist-album-review/



"Her new album Curious Tourist draws on a range of influences, many more familiar to us this side of the pond, including the Britpop of Blur and the ’80s dance pop of Bronski Beat. Add those to Stateside shoegaze and post-punk and you get a unique Transatlantic mix that grabs the attention and doesn’t let go.

For the album, Leah worked with arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist and co-songwriter Chris Stern and the love for, and reverence to, their shared inspirations are hugely evident on Curious Tourist, starting right from its opener Nowhere Girl. At once feeling like a throwback and an evolution, it sees them introduce strings to heighten its emotional and melancholic story.

No One livens things up with some dark and driving rock before title track Curious Tourist wraps us in its smoky, smouldering atmosphere. Super and Ordinary Face round off the album’s first half, the latter proving to be a groovy, timeless highlight.

In the album’s second half, we get the vibrant Social Climber, the dreamy Wish, then some pensive, moody instrumental pop in All’s Fair in War. Duras is delicate and devastating, then dramatic, before You Don’t Love Me (No No No) closes the album with an unexpected take on Dawn Penn’s 1994 reggae classic.

Leah’s new album feels like an ambitious one. Yet she and Chris have used their shared experience and pulled it off. It’s simply a joy to listen to, and will please long-time fans as much as it does new ones like me."
York Calling
yorkcalling.co.uk/2024/04/29/album-review-leah-callahan-curious-tourist/

"Boston songwriter and performer Leah Callahan has just released her fourth album this decade, ‘Curious Tourist.’ And, it has to be said, it’s a belter! It’s been getting serious play here at TIG, and we’re really enjoying the Britpop/Shoegaze/Indie Pop vibe. The album journeys through sounds reminiscent of greats like Blur, Lush, The Cardigans, PJ Harvey, and others. But Leah, along with arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and co-songwriter Chris Stern, has put together something that is uniquely their own."

(On Super) "This could genuinely be Aimee Mann’s latest release – and I say that with the greatest respect for comparisons! Aimee Mann, at least to me, is one of the most underrated songwriters of the day… and ‘Super’ would fit right into her stellar catalogue. The vocals have that Aimee delivery she often used in ’Til Tuesday (e.g. ‘What About Love’), but perfectly honed in her solo material. The phrasing, the timbre… Leah nails it but brings her own melodic nuances to proceedings... with an acerbic wit, Leah gives away that there’s more going on here than meets the ear."

"‘Super’ is one of many highlights on the ‘Curious Tourist’ album. From the more straightforward indie pop sensibilities of ‘Super’ and ‘Ordinary Face,’ you can journey through dark post-punk tracks à la ‘No One,’ right through to the Nick Cave-esque atmospheric titular track (think ‘Red Right Hand’). It’s a varied ride through ‘90s styles brought up to date and given a new lease of life."
The Indie Grid
www.theindiegrid.co.uk/indie-rock/exploring-leah-callahans-90s-inspired-track-super-from-the-curious-tourist-album/

"Leah Callahan is a Boston-area music veteran–from the mid-90s to mid-2000s, she played in the bands Turkish Delight, Betwixt, and The Glass Set, in addition to releasing a solo album in 2003. After The Glass Set’s last album in 2007, it appeared that Callahan was done with recording music, but she’s recently broken a 13-year hiatus with a prolific streak–she released two full-length albums (Simple Folk and Short Stories) in 2021, and followed them up with 2022’s Cut-Ups. Curious Tourist, therefore, is the fourth Leah Callahan album in about three years, and its ten songs feel like the work of seasoned professionals.

It’s Callahan’s name on the cover, but it’s far from a “solo” effort–the contributions of multi-instrumentalist and co-songwriter Chris Stern are particularly felt, but the rest the record’s musicians (drummer Alex Brander and viola player Jeremy Fortier) make their contributions known as well. Callahan mentions Britpop and shoegaze as touchstones for Curious Tourist–she and Stern specifically bonded over Lush, and she also recalls experiencing Swirlies and Medicine firsthand during her stints in 90s indie rock groups.

The resultant album is a robust indie rock record that actually rocks, while still retaining a relatively straight-laced, song-forward approach. Curious Tourist reminds me of recent albums by Phosphene and Guest Directors, records that could be loud and distorted but without being overly committed to recreating shoegaze moments of the past. “Nowhere Girl” is a huge opening statement, an orchestral, all-in six-minute rocker, while songs like “No One” and “Ordinary Face” find Callahan and her collaborators sharpening their claws and banging out rock music that capture both the darker (the former) and bouncier (the latter) sides of post-punk.

These larger instrumental showcases contain plenty of catchy moments, but Curious Tourist really shows off its pop songwriting when it’s more streamlined–the skipping, toe-tapping retro pop of “Super” is perhaps the most well-rounded “pop song” on the record, but both “Social Climber” and “Wish” deploy especially strong guitar-based melodies that give it a run for its money. The record ends with a cover of “You Don’t Love Me (No No No)”, a blues song that has been adapted into a rocksteady-influenced tune over the years (which is the version Callahan and her band play). It’s a huge left turn to end Curious Tourist, but it works as a statement from a reawakened artist unwilling to restrict herself in her second act."
Rosy Overdrive
rosyoverdrive.com/2024/05/06/pressing-concerns-vacation-nihiloceros-leah-callahan-jon-mckiel/


"The opening track “Nowhere Girl” is a hooky tour-de force, traversing through a delectable soundscape that varies between elongated shoegaze-friendly guitar lines and post-punk bass thumping. “But being found really wasn’t your thing,” Callahan’s lush vocals let out as the textured guitar enter, making for a replay-inducing moment on an album full of many. "
Obscure Sound
www.obscuresound.com/2024/05/leah-callahan-curious-tourist/

"playful yet introspective indie rock track that showcases her distinctive voice and lyrical style."
Melodic Mag
www.melodicmag.com/2024/05/01/leah-callahans-super-is-an-ode-to-individuality/

"Su último sencillo «Ordinary Face«, es el adelanto de su disco que verá la luz el 29 de abril y lleva por título «Curious Tourist». Este será el cuarto trabajo discográfico de la artista que ha ido a disco por año. «Ordinary Face» es una lucha contra todos nuestros fantasmas, es buscar nuestro sitio en un mundo tan complicado como este, correr a contracorriente buscando nuestro lugar. Todo ello mediante un tema pegadizo que te acaba atrapando."
100% Pop Espanol
pop100.es/2024/03/25/leah-callahan-presenta-ordinary-face/

"Moody guitar jangles and twinkling keys assemble a nostalgic rock appeal on “Ordinary Face,” a riveting new single from Leah Callahan."

“Ordinary Face” thoroughly compels in its dynamics between pulsing rock intrigue and chamber-pop flourishes."
Obscure Sound (Single Review)
www.obscuresound.com/2024/03/leah-callahan-ordinary-face/


"Boston-based new wave songsmith Leah Callahan makes offbeat alt pop recalling the likes of Bronski Beat and at times Blur. It’s a sneakily catchy and danceable number that buries into your head. Disconcerting, shifty, addictive."
Start-Track
start-track.com/single-leah-callahan-ordinary-face/

"Boston indie singer Leah Callahan inserts a bit of baroque pop into her new single Ordinary Face, making a case for a girl who tends to be overlooked."
Here Comes the Flood
www.herecomestheflood.com/2024/03/leah-callahan-ordinary-face.html

"Magnifique."
Unis-Son
unis-son.com/2024/03/28/flash-curious-tourist-leah-callahan-fr/

"There’s a groovy blend of 80s pop and rock blended with a tight 90s rock style of production and glam style and lush strings, all that ruminates together creating a sonic template that is completely charming."
We all want someone to shout for
weallwantsomeone.org/2024/04/16/leah-callahan-ordinary-face

"the title-track from Curious Tourist, and in addition to having a 90s Brit Pop feel, it’s also reminiscent of 60s pop as well. I can definitely imagine it on the soundtrack of a film set in, say, Monte Carlo in 1968"
Abominations
marcschuster.wordpress.com/2024/04/15/people-brought-me-back-to-music-an-interview-with-leah-callahan/

"Perfeita para andar a ouvir alto e em loop e para andar o dia inteiro a cantarolar, "Super" é uma canção deliciosa e muito envolvente, que me faz ter a certeza que o som único de Leah Callahan nos vai voltar a fazer companhia, por aqui, mais vezes."
Phonograph Me
phonographme.blogspot.com/2024/05/leah-callahan-super.html

"Su último sencillo, “Ordinary Face”, es una exploración audaz de sonidos retro, envuelta en una atmósfera de rock vintage. La canción sorprende con giros de ritmo inesperados y una variedad de sonidos que le confieren un carácter distintivo, junto con la voz femenina de Callahan, evocadora de épocas pasadas, añade una capa de nostalgia y emoción a la canción."
Oleada Indie
oleadaindie.com/explorando-los-sonidos-retro-de-leah-callahan-ordinary-face/

"La chanteuse ouvre l’album avec un single de genre musical avec lequel elle a joué au milieu des années 2000 avec son groupe de musique Glass Set. “Nowhere Girl”, avec une mélodie captivante qui nous accueille dès l’ouverture, elle débarque avec sa voix relaxante et apporte plus de douceur à la musique et aussi, on remarque une telle aisance dans son interprétation, preuve de sa capacité vocale."
Iggy Magazine
www.iggymagazine.com/leah-callahan-met-a-votre-disposition-son-incroyable-album-intitule-curious-tourist/

"O álbum "Curious Tourist" chega com suas 10 faixas com muita história e ainda nos mata a saudade desse som dos anos anos 80 indie rock com indie wave. O que impressiona é que podemos deixar o álbum tocando sem pular nenhuma faixa demonstrando sua qualidade e o talento incrível de Leah Callahan."
IndieOclock
www.indieoclock.com.br/2024/05/leah-callahan-album-com-10-faixas.html

White Light//White Heat "Picks of the week" for both "Super" and "Ordinary Face"
www.whitelight-whiteheat.com/wl-wh-weekly-shoegaze-dreampop-psychedelic-indie-tips-06-24/
www.whitelight-whiteheat.com/wl-wh-weekly-shoegaze-dreampop-psychedelic-indie-tips-12-24/


About Curious Tourist:

Singer-songwriter Leah Callahan’s new album, Curious Tourist, marks her fourth solo album in as many years, a product of a relentless drive to endure and create in spite of seemingly insurmountable odds. It’s an indie-pop triumph from an artist who forged her craft in the Boston indie rock scene so aptly portrayed by writer Erin Margaret Day (daily.bandcamp.com/scene-report/nineties-indie-rock-boston-list), and is now fully coming into her own as a solo artist.

Arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and co-songwriter Chris Stern brings impeccable musicianship and range to this, his first effort with Callahan, providing Johnny Marr meets Kevin Shields guitars for “Nowhere Girl”, “No One”, “Super”, “Social Climber” and “Wish”, and intoxicatingly grand aural soundscapes for “Curious Tourist” and “Duras”. Stern has brought along another first for Callahan’s solo albums - a sumptuous string section - masterfully provided by Providence based Jeremy Fortier on viola.

Callahan enlists, once again, both good friend and veteran producer/engineer Richard Marr, and percussionist Alex Brander (Big D and the Kids Table). With this ambitious team, Curious Tourist builds on the legacy of Britpop’s past, and kicks things into overdrive with brand new takes on dance-pop, post-punk, and shoegaze.


Interviews:

Interview with writer Iain Key of "Louder than War Radio" on his radio show "Indie Brunch": www.mixcloud.com/louderthanwar/iain-keys-indie-brunch-with-leah-callahan-saturday-27th-april-2024/

Interview with IHeartNoise:https://ihrtn.net/interviews-leah-callahan-turkish-delight-betwixt-the-glass-set/

Interview on "Blowing smoke with twisted rico": www.youtube.com/watch?v=04FRBsQvjew

Interview with writer and musician Marc Schuster in his blog Abominations:
marcschuster.wordpress.com/2024/04/15/people-brought-me-back-to-music-an-interview-with-leah-callahan/