(Self-released, digital download)
Songwriter and producer Leander — full name Leander Holzapfel — has been home-brewing ambitious and accomplished music for years now. Bouncing between Burlington and Brattleboro, he’s perhaps best known as the lead guitarist for upstart indie-rock band Moxie. His 2022 solo debut, Locations, sounded like a side project, a fertile mix of demos, experiments and catchy melodies. Two years later, he came back with Sun Sick!, a huge evolution that tightened up his presentation and sound quality.
It was also proof he could navigate radio pop-rap and straight-up R&B with equal conviction. Leander Holzapfel is both a natural musician and a certifiable DIY studio wizard. For his latest album, Roscoe, he’s collaborated with Caleb Hoh, a Burlington musician and producer known for his groundbreaking work with the 99 Neighbors collective. With Hoh handling mixing and mastering, the duo delivers world-class goods. This is the debut of an artist transformed.
Opening track “Quiver” is a head-nodding banger. Leander’s vocal delivery is a product of his time, laid-back to the point of sounding sedated, emphasizing melodies and intonation more than lyrics. What sets him apart from his peers is his clarity of purpose. Every aspect of the execution is impressive. In particular, the vocal arrangements and layering put every song over the top.
“Fireside” is bright radio pop with some summertime chords over another driving drumbeat. Leander’s delivery veers into rap for the middle act, then the song shifts into a crushing outro. Those two songs are already a strong opening sequence, but “In Your Head” raises the bar far further. It’s an impeccable single, on par with anything dropping on a major label this year. Heavy, beautiful and catchy, it’s an unbroken spell, front to back.
How albums recover from their best song can be a delicate thing. There are no miscalculations here, however. In fact, this seven-track run is a blockbuster live show waiting to happen. The almost prog-rock rhythm changes of “Parting Ways” are a total contrast to “In Your Head,” whose beat would flatten the room on a proper sound system. That one-two punch washes out into another highlight, “Out of This World.” Building from an aching guitar ballad intro to some Coldplay-adjacent arena rock, this song is a wild, psychedelic ride.
The final act recenters things with more anthemic radio fare. “Left Out” is a lilting, ’80s-flavored dream that features Leander leaning into his fluid falsetto. Closing track “My Stars” is a slow, sweet conclusion, an introspective rant from a restless young mind. Sonically, it straddles the gap between Tears for Fears and Young Thug. It works, too.
Pound for pound, Roscoe is one of the best local releases I’ve heard in the past few years. This sound, vibe and lane is not to my taste at all, but if I’m comparing your work to Seal and Trent Reznor, you are doing something very right indeed. My hat is off to Leander and young Mr. Hoh. Roscoe is a flawless victory.
Roscoe is available on Bandcamp and major streaming platforms.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2025.
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