“Magnetic” by Flyleaf, Monday, November 14, 2023
When a successful band records a new record and the announces the departure of their lead singer— the face of their band, it can be industry suicide. That’s exactly what happened when Flyleaf’s frontwoman Lacey Sturm quit the band soon after releasing their third album, 2012's New Horizons. After the car accident and death of the band’s sound engineer Rich Caldwell and after reevaluating her life, Sturm decided to quit the band to focus on her family. Before leaving, though, she and the other band members selected Kristen May, formerly of the band Vedera, to replace Sturm.
PULLING ME FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. Momentum for the third Flyleaf record withered with the departure of the signature sound of their front woman. Dropping out of Flyleaf meant dropping out of all album promotion, save for the singer’s farewell videos, “New Horizons” and “Call You Out.” Kristen May stepped into touring duties immediately following Sturm’s departure. The next year, Flyleaf released an EP with Kristen May on vocals. This was the first exposure for many fans to the new sound of the band. The EP featured a new song with P.O.D.'s Sonny Sandoval, but the rest were live songs, mostly from New Horizons, but one track from the band's self-titled, "Sorrow." Many fans failed to see the continuity of the band. May, the band's new lead singer was more akin to Paramore's Haley Williams or Fireflight's Dawn Michele. Whereas Sturm's voice is low and her stage persona mysterious and somewhat tortured, May's voice is upbeat and her stage presence is like a pop-punk star, more like Sara Dallin or Keren Woodword of Bananrama than of Lacey Sturm, and the EP Who We Are sounded like a pop band covering Flyleaf.
ALWAYS GONNA FIND EACH OTHER SOMEHOW. Flyleaf then released a full-length record with Kristen May on vocals in 2014, titled Between the Stars. The album continued to deviate from the band's dark original sound, dealing with lighter subject matter. Critics and fans agreed that the new Flyleaf sounded nothing like the original band though Between the Stars received "generally favorable reviews" according to Metacritic. For me, the only redeemable song is "Magnetic," the album's second track. It's a love song with a killer bass intro, a kind of evolution of Kirk Patrick Seals' "I'm So Sick" intro. Still, it's not Flyleaf. Although Kristen May was selected by the band, the singer felt insecurity being in the group. She stated in an interview with Cryptic Rock that she felt that fans judged her on how she showed her Christianity. And compared to her predecessor, the charismatic Lacey Sturm, who practically brought a church service to the intoxicated crowds, fans probably noted a stark difference between the lead singers. There could only be one Lacey Sturm and she was the voice of Flyleaf. May left Flyleaf following Between the Stars, like Sturm exiting to take care of her newborn son. Of Flyleaf, she said that she never really felt like a part of the band. Sturm had left Flyleaf on good terms. As her children grew up, she began to focus more on her music and writing. She has continued to collaborate with bands such as Breaking Benjamin and Skillet as well as releasing a full-length record in 2016 called Life Screams and singles since then. Just like pure magnetism, last week Sturm announced that she and Flyleaf would be performing a show together next year. What this means for the future of the band, we have yet to find out.
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