Flyleaf is one of those bands that falls into the weird quasi-Christian genre. Their lyrics are spiritual, mention God explicitly, and yet they can still get a fair amount of radio time on “secular” stations. My first introduction to this band was “Fully Alive”–and when I heard it I was all “whoa, Barlow Girl went screamo!” The lead singer does sound a bit like Barlow Girl (such a cheesy name for an otherwise solid band), but other than that this Flyleaf has a pretty different sound (if you ignore the other maybe twenty or so really popular punk-metal-emo bands), one that’s easy to enjoy regardless of faith or even your repressed emo angst.
Despite their typical emo look (see above–and this is a “sunny” picture of the group…), Flyleaf has quite a few very uplifting songs. One of my favorite is the song “Cassie”, which at first listen seems to be pretty dark and even murderous, but upon closer inspection is about Cassie Bernall, one of the students killed in the Columbine school shootings. I love the acoustic version of this song, and here is the first verse and bridge:
The question asked in order to save her life or take it/ The answer no avoided death and yes would make it/
‘Do you believe in God?’/ Written on the bullet/ Say yes to pull the trigger/ And my Sister Cassie pulled it
They didn’t love their live so much/ As to shrink from death/ Inspired in their footsteps/ We will march ahead./ Don’t be shocked that people die/ Be surprised you’re still alive.
For a borderline emo/screamo band, there are a lot of really soft worship-y songs from this band, in addition to their harder hits (like “Fully Alive” or “All Around Me”). Another great acoustic take is “Red Sam”, and here’s a sample.
Lately I only buy one or two CDs a year, with iTunes or Amazon’s mp3 store taking the brunt of my music purchasing, but I like Flyleaf so much I downloaded most of their self-titled CD and I also went out and bought a copy for the car. I recommend you do the same–this is a great band, with a distinct sound and some really meaningful lyrics. Check out their website for more info and tour dates.
Posted by Micah McMillan 
