Mimi and the Leaders is a 5 piece band based in Leeds and York. The band has many wide influences from Lady Gaga to Rage and the Machine and, listening to their music, I’d say it’s also apparent that they draw influence a little from Florence and the Machine.

The band tries not to base their music on one genre. They don’t like music where ‘once you have heard one song, you have heard them all’. This is certainly a common theme in the music industry today with many fans just idolising themselves on other popular bands. I commend Mimi and The Leaders for wanting to dodge said trend and to stand out from the crowd to do something that bit different.

I really like the way the band mix styles within their songs. The band has uploaded five songs to their Soundcloud account which all seem to be of different genres, including Electro, Rock and Psychedelic.

Amy, the lead singer, has some amazing vocals throughout and by my first listen I immediately conjure up likenesses to the singer from Portishead, whom also has a breathtakingly smooth and powerful vocal. Although the vocals within the tracks I sample can sometimes be drowned by the music itself, Amy’s tones are still patent and strong emotions are exuded throughout.

One of my favourite songs by Mimi and The Leaders, taken from their latest offering, is ‘Ride With Me’. So very different to anything out there at the moment, I start by comparing the intro of this song with ‘M1/A1’ by Gorillaz but it soon turns into almost a chill-out psychedelic tune with which I cannot equate to any other band out there. Fabulous example of what Mimi are setting out to achieve!

The band appears to already have a great following, although relatively new to the scene, with nearly 300 followers on Soundcloud, as well as doing many gigs in the Leeds area to get them even more well-known. The next gig is at Carpe Diem on the 23rd April and to get tickets you can get in touch with the band at http://soundcloud.com/mimi-and-the-leaders. Certainly one to check out if I were you!

Lyndsey Howarth

Read our other review of Mimi and The Leaders here