“We can’t see the start, We can’t hide the end.” The Album Leaf’s follow-up to 2006, the Sub Pop studio album A Chorus of Storytellers, is an unremitting piece of eleven tracks which goes beyond the stills of life, landscapes, and any mediocre attempt to justify an existence by provoking emotion-filled retorts. With one simple formula, San Diego’s Jimmy LaValle, who by the way is The Album Leaf, took a risk on his solo project of a decade, and enlisted for the first time, a full live band. The sound doesn’t stray far off from his previous solo ventures, but it’s indisputably richer and bona fide craftsmanship, from glockenspiel, trumpet to strings. For those not aware, the focus of The Album Leaf is, as a rule, instrumental with several tracks fortified by laconic lyrics. The choice of words, however, is each time fitting, and conveys the passion of volumes. From Falling From The Sun’s “If the sky is burning, When the clouds move in…Find a way to fall,” and There Is A Wind’s “This wind takes me away,” you can’t help but be uplifted to a state of reflection and meditation. So no, it’s probably not best to play in your cubicle at work, but as a film score or to unwind, the album is unspoiled. You would probably understand this best if I added that the tracks were also mixed by Sigur Rós’ engineer Birgir Jón Birgisson from Iceland. A Chorus of Storytellers is a slow beautiful climb.
Key Tracks: Falling From The Sun, Summer Fog, Almost There, Tied Knots
Moods: Reflective, Bright, Dreamy, Atmospheric, Springlike, Hypnotic
