ROMBO Magazine
ROMBO called it “a chamber of gentle dread,” praising the EP's mastery of restraint — a composer who understands how much emotional weight can be carried by what is left unsaid and unplayed.
ABOUT
BLACK LEATHER BIRDS is the solo project of A.G. Syjuco, best known as the producer and composer behind the experimental rock/art band Jack of None. Launched during the 2020 pandemic, Black Leather Birds is A.G.'s personal space for exploring new musical ideas and pushing creative boundaries beyond his collaborative work.
In March 2021, A.G. released his debut EP, "The Color of Memory," featuring predominantly instrumental music that did not seem to fit Jack of None's aesthetic.
In May 2026, A.G. released his latest EP, "of Children and Their Sorceries," a five-track opus heavy on atmosphere, spoken word, and slow-building tension. The record explores themes of anxiety and existential dread with a literary sensibility, placing prose poetry and ritual chant alongside more conventional song structures.
A.G. actively experiments with integrating software development innovations and techniques into music and video production, leveraging his professional expertise as a technologist at a major multinational tech firm. Black Leather Birds reflects A.G.'s passion for creative exploration, technology, and storytelling through sound and visuals.
FEATURED REVIEWS
of Children and Their Sorceries has been met with a wave of acclaim across the underground. A few of the voices:
Sleeping Bag Studios
Jer@SBS found “The Box” genuinely staggering and “Almost” a level beyond everything else, declaring the EP one of the best records you'll hear this year — worthy of hanging in the Louvre.
Lelahel Metal
A glowing notice praising the EP as boundary-pushing and deeply immersive — singling out the spoken-word centerpiece “The Box” as “a masterclass in narrative songwriting,” and a project that prizes emotional truth over convention.
Indie Dock Music Blog
An in-depth London review praising the EP's meticulous restraint and literary depth — calling the protagonist of “The Box” “one of the more perfectly conceived characters to appear in a song this decade,” and the record a serious, exacting reckoning with ordinary dread.
Edgar Allan Poets
Called it “a thrilling engagement with the unknown,” praising the EP's avant-garde atmosphere, fearless experimentation, and A.G.'s ability to transport listeners into an alternate reality.
The Shend
The Shend — founder and frontman of cult Dadaist post-punk legends The Cravats, and a four-time John Peel Session artist on BBC Radio 1 — spun “Nothing Ever Grows Here” on his radio programme The Spinning Man, likening it to “a David Lynch film turned into a piece of music.”
Parkett
Italy's Parkett hailed the EP as “a thoughtful and highly developed artistic vision,” praising how it balances alternative-rock foundations with literary storytelling and immersive, cinematic electronic textures — suspended between reality and imagination.
In Conversation
ROMBO Magazine · June 2026
Black Leather Birds and the Rooms We Choose to Stay In
A long-form interview on solitude, domestic dread, family legacy, and the EP that turns an unopened box into a meditation on presence — on the things that never truly leave us, and learning “to make room for them.”
READ THE INTERVIEW