LEAP: Taking the Jump and Never Looking Back
- Zuzanna Pazola
- 23 minutes ago
- 5 min read
With a sold-out London headline show, a top five German rock chart entry, their biggest UK tour successfully finished and a fresh signing to the Epitaph Records, London-based four-piece LEAP are riding a wave entirely of their own making. Following their first full album release - Entropy, an emotionally charged statement of independence, catharsis, and friendship - we sat down with the frontman Jack Scott right after the big release to discuss this leap of faith that has clearly paid off.
Jack spoke with a mix of warmth and humility that makes LEAP’s recent success feel even more hard-won. When we talked, he was still processing the chaos of the road. “We had quite an eventful day yesterday,” he laughs. “We just played a show in Manchester and we were leaving to go to Glasgow, but twenty minutes in, our van just completely gives up.” Six hours stranded on the roadside later, the band were forced to cancel the Glasgow show, which was a first for them. “We were pretty gutted about that,” Jack admits, “but we’ve got a big show at Village Underground in London tomorrow, so we’re super excited for that. It’s like seven-hundred cap, and sold out.”
Setbacks like that have become part of LEAP’s story, but they handle them with humour and heart. The band’s foundation is simple: friendship. “It’s made up of four best friends. That’s me, Hector, who I grew up with in Edinburgh, Declan, and Adam. We’re just four best mates doing our thing, a totally independent band [at the time of the interview] touring all over Europe.” That closeness gives them strength when touring starts to take its toll. Jack describes it as “a big sort of holiday; a very stressful holiday.” Between the exhaustion and emotion, it’s an intense experience. “It’s definitely quite an emotional rollercoaster,” he says. “One moment I’m gonna cry, and then I’m having the best time, it’s a bit of a mindfuck.”
That vulnerability carries straight into ‘Entropy’. The record fuses anthemic alt-rock, grunge textures, and big energy, but at its core it is all about connection: between the band, their audience, and the people who find comfort in their words. “Because we’re quite open with our songwriting, I think people feel like… connected. After shows, when we’re meeting all the fans, sometimes we’re having really deep conversations about quite heavy stuff,” Jack explains. “It is quite emotionally intense, because you feel like you’re trying to express yourself every night and be honest on stage.”
One of the album’s most affecting moments, Messages, deals with grief head-on. “‘Messages’ is about when I lost my old man in 2021,” Jack says quietly. He tells me that fans have reached out to share their own stories, often about loss or healing. “I think that’s a really beautiful thing,” he says. “We’re kind of creating a community of slightly damaged individuals that can sort of, you know, look after each other. And there’s this little expression that we sort of came up with, we call it rock and roll therapy.”
That phrase feels like a mission statement. LEAP’s live shows are loud, sweaty, and cathartic, a communal release for band and audience alike. “There’s no better feeling than just getting into a mosh pit with a bunch of these people that all feel the same way about things as you. It feels like a really healing experience.” That openness, he insists, is not calculated. “I wouldn’t say it was like a conscious decision. I just think it’s sort of like when a song is flowing out of you, that just tends to be what comes out.”
The process of capturing that honesty, though, can be brutal. “I wish I could give the really sexy answer that it’s all one take, but it’s definitely not,” he laughs. “It’s quite a painful process… I’ve spent whole afternoons doing like two lyrics before.” However, over time, the band had learned to embrace imperfection. “We’ve tried to learn to not be as much [of perfectionists], because I think the most important thing is just getting the songs done and getting them out. Trying to capture that little moment in time.”
Jack points to I Was Never There as the perfect example of how spontaneity pays off. “It’s a really dancey one, and it almost didn’t make the album. Then we were like, no, let’s add in some fun, something spicy,” he jokes. “And then playing that one at the shows, it’s been great to see people actually properly dancing to it.” If that track represents the euphoric side of LEAP, the closing song Eclipse offers something more introspective. “It seems to be connecting really well with people,” Jack notes. “So I’m happy with how those are going.”
Between the highs and lows of touring, LEAP are constantly writing, even on the move. “If you stop for too long, you start doubting yourself,” Jack admits. “We’ve started this thing where we get some of our demos that we’re working on, and we listen to them while we’re on the road. You just start singing along and coming up with ideas while you’re still in that sort of rock and roll mindset.” That drive to keep creating is absolutely paying off too. At the time of the interview, the band were midway through a massive UK and European tour, with a U.S. run already planned for next spring. “We’ve got big plans. We’ve kind of got the next two years of touring mapped out, and then past that we’re looking at places like Australia and Japan.”
Jack’s previous band was signed to a major label, and the experience made him wary. “It’s just easy to spend money that’s there when you have it,” he reflects, “but if it’s not going to the right places, then you’re just essentially putting your business into the hole.” So, this time, LEAP are doing it all their own way, and it is working. “Now we’re almost at 700,000 monthly listeners [on Spotify], and we’ve sold like 15,000 tickets on this tour already.” While admittedly stressful to manage alone from the start, it is a cause to celebrate. “It’s a good problem to have. If you’re not a little bit stressed, then you’re not doing something right.”
Their breakthrough came through sheer persistence. On their first European tour, the band took a gamble, booking dates in countries where no one even knew their name. “We didn’t have any listeners across Europe,” Jack recalls. “We just said, let’s put the tour on and see what happens. And suddenly so many people were showing up to these shows all over Europe. What the fuck is going on?” The momentum snowballed from there. Their single Sinking Feeling found major traction on Spotify playlists, and LEAP suddenly found themselves in front of growing audiences across the continent. “That really boosted our listenership, it all just started this snowballing effect.”
For Jack, though, success is not about numbers, it is about purpose. “The whole reason the name LEAP came around is from being in a situation where I wasn’t believing in myself anymore,” he says. “I was doubting myself and depressed. I just really hope that people who listen to LEAP, if they’re in that sort of position, can find the courage to believe in themselves and give themselves that chance. Take the leap, you know what I mean?” He smiles, the sentiment sincere and unguarded. “I’m hoping people can put it on nice and loud in their headphones and be like, “I am going to fuck today up.” “
With their debut album Entropy out now and their recent signing to the Epitaph Records, LEAP are doing exactly that - taking the jump, and never looking back.
Words: Zuzanna Pazola
Photos: Jennifer McCord
With thanks to: Leap and the Good As Gold Group
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