Leon III, the Texas-based genre-exploratory outfit led by Andy Stepanian (vocal, guitar, keyboard, piano, omnichord) and Mason Brent (guitar, bass, vocal, banjo) who were both members of Wrinkle Neck Mules, a long running Virginia based band with a significant cult following, and founders of the popular Austin apparel brand Howler Brothers are thrilled to release their highly anticipated sophomore album, Antlers in Velvet.

In celebration of the release, the band will host a release day livestream party on March 5 via their YouTube channel at 9pm ET. Andy cordially invited fans to join the party via the group’s Instagram page saying: “Get your brain right and come along on this 43:05 sonic and auditory journey. We will be there reading and, perhaps, responding to your comments (and deleting the negative ones). Even Mason will come out of his analog slumber to enter the digital fiesta. Be there."

With some tracks lasting nearly ten-minutes, this record begs the listener to dive in headfirst and commit to an ultimate and holistic listening experience. The new album showcases the extreme depth and the genius musicianship that this project holds. MxDwn calls the album an “expansive, genre-bending new sound.”

Leon III, sounds like a relic from another age. In a time when so much of today’s music seems as disposable and temporal as a tweet, Leon III is standing athwart the tide; and here, the band conjures the spirit and ambition of Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead. Make no mistake, this is an album with the potential for a serious shelf life.

Glide Magazine expanded on these ideas recently saying: “Traversing an expansive sonic landscape, the band skillfully layers twangy 70s rock guitars, psychedelic solos, and suspense-building drum fills to create a sound that feels rooted in the arena-filling rock of Pink Floyd as well as jammy spaceouts of My Morning Jacket. We also hear a touch of fellow Austinite Israel Nash’s desert folklore. All of this combines to make for a track that feels like a compelling musical journey with peaks and valleys that comes to an enlightening conclusion. In listening to the track, you get the sense that Leon III is more focused on a big and cohesive album-oriented rock sound than they are on cranking out Spotify one-hitters. You can tell that these guys are having fun in the studio, experimenting with different sounds and building their songs piece by piece.”