Flyleaf confronts past tragedies to heal old scars and demonstrate that hope is stronger than despair, while many loud rockers recreate old wounds by singing about their broken homes and broken hearts.
Flyleaf, a band based in Belton, Texas, was founded in 2000 when frontwoman Lacey Mosley had drummer James Culpepper play a series of hard-edged songs she had written as a depressed teenager. They played together for a short time before bringing on guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann from a nearby band that had just broken up. The band, originally called Passerby, was formed in 2002 when bassist Pat Seals joined.
Under the booking and promotion firm Runt Entertainment, the band As Passerby performed more than 100 performances in Texas alone over the course of two years and issued three EPs. The band signed with Octone Records in January 2004. Flyleaf, the band’s debut full-length album, was recorded with Howard Benson in 2005. The album features appearances by Ryan White of Resident Hero and Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction. “I’m So Sick” was their first popular hit from their debut album. “Fully Alive” followed, followed by “All Around Me” and “There For You.”
Flyleaf’s self-titled debut album is filled with themes about overcoming adversity as well as songs about abuse, abandonment, addiction, and dysfunction. Additionally, Mosley’s emotionally exposing lyrics—which range from breathy and lovely to caustic and aggressive—are complemented by the band’s diverse variety of brooding beats, ambient textures, and lunging guitars.
Given Mosley’s childhood difficulties, Flyleaf’s contagious positivity is all the more startling. “My mom was a young single mother of six,” she says. “We were all struggling because we lacked money. There was a lot of hardship, suffering, and character development because we frequently moved whenever we couldn’t make finances meet in one location.
“When you’re dealing with that kind of stress, it’s easy to get depressed,” she adds, “especially when it seems like nothing will ever improve.” I had nothing to believe in and nothing that was constant in my life. I got into some terrible situations that I believed would make me feel more loved or perhaps simply numb, but they instead cost me everything I held dear and almost killed me.”
It’s not always possible to swim back to the top of a dive after hitting the bottom. Writing songs about survival allowed Mosley to come to the surface and regain her air. “I had to lose everything to look up and see that there is a truly constant hope of a happy ending and that’s what we make music for.” According to her. “If my music helps one person, than it’s worth having been through what I’ve experienced.”
“When we consider where we came from and where we are now, we realize that we are performing in front of a thousand people tonight,” says Mosley. “And finally, despite the fact that we are essentially nobody, we are incredibly grateful to the bands who offered us the opportunity to perform alongside them.”
“A flyleaf is the blank page at the front of a book,” says Mosley. It’s the dedication page, where you write a note to the recipient of the book. Our songs are essentially personal messages that offer brief moments of clarity prior to the story’s start.
One band that fits into the strange quasi-Christian category is Flyleaf. Even though their songs are spiritual and specifically reference God, they are nonetheless given a good amount of airtime on “secular” channels. Even though Flyleaf has a classic emo aesthetic, they have a number of really positive songs. This band is fantastic; they have a unique sound and some very poignant songs.