Track Listing

1. Window
2. Thule
3. On Your Way
4. Twentytwofourteen
5. The Outer Banks
6. Over The Pond
7. Another Day
8. Streamside
9. Eastern Glow
10. Moss Mountain Town

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42812 in Music
• Released on: 2004-07-26
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

A new leaf
This album is the best so far from Jimmy Lavelle aka The Album Leaf. It is certainly the most intelligent work he has produced and this can be atrributed to the fact that there are several memebers of the excellent Sigur Ros guesting here. The use of some beautiful violins and rasping vocals on 'Over the Pond' is undeniably heavily influenced by the Icelandic group, it is definitelt the best track on the album. Yet, we must not take credit away from Mr. Lavelle, it is his excellence that shines through on the record. Slightly less electronic than his other work he embraces a wide range of wind and string instruments and what he leaves us with is an album that is pure bliss. Close your eyes and listen. The Album Leaf has produced a musical kalaidoscope. You should get the rest of his work, sit back and enjoy. If you like this you're certain to like Manitoba and Four Tet, more beautiful electronica.

Buy it
i saw the album leaf (well technically it was just jimmy and a laptop) support Sigur Ros a couple of years ago at the Hammersmith. I remember the music was nice enough, but with so many samples being played and only the one 'live' part, it was quite difficult to get into and consequently, the only memory i took away from his performance was the only words he said: "Good evening, im the album leaf" and "Thanks, i was the album leaf"

a year later i saw a promo copy of this album in my local record swapshop, and bought it on the whim. Besides, maybe itd have some Sigur Ros on it.

this album is beautiful. for about a month i listened to nothing else. if you like Sigur Ros or other art/prog/post-rock bands, chances are you'll like this. the musicians involved (jimmy, sigur ros and their string quartet, i think) manage to weave their beautiful sonic textures around jimmy's songs, which are a lot more 'pop' in structure and substance than anything in the art/prog/post world. theres also quite a bit of programmed percussion, with some lapses into clix/cuts territory. one song (Over the Pond, i think) features Jonsi from Sigur Ros on vocals, plus his keyboard sampler that he uses on (), so fans of the icelandic noise-musicians will feel completely at home.

ultimately just get it, because i cant begin to describe how perfect it is.

Playing it "Safe"
Fans beware -- the Album Leaf takes a different direction in "In A Safe Place." Jimmy LaValle takes a voyage into Sigur Ros's turf, experimenting with pop tunes and ambient meanderings. The resulting music is ethereally pretty, but not terribly memorable.

It opens with a delicately ambient tune that runs a little too long, before shifting into a sort of airy, ambient-edged pop music that meanders over pretty little paths. Songs like "Thule" have a settled crystalline quality, while some songs like "The Outer Banks" are a bit more experimental, mixing the rippling melody with rat-a-tat percussion.

"In a Safe Place" was recorded in Iceland, the land of Sigur Ros, Mum, Bjork and Emiliana Torrini. As a result, the influence of Iceland is heavy here (just check the instrumental credits!). It even sounds a bit like Iceland -- LaValle's music sounds airy, eerie and icy. At its top moments, this album is simply enchanting, but at others it feels like LaValle has overstretched himself.

The music itself is sweet and simple -- sometimes deceptively so. More ordinary instruments like drums and guitar are mellowed out by the glockenspiel, keyboards, cello and violins. In many songs, the instrumentation weaves itself into airy tapestries. But other songs like "Another Day" don't fully gel. They sound like two incompatible melodies laid over each other, one sputtery pop and one ambient.

The Sigur Ros influence is strongest in "Over the Pond," where Jon Thor Birgisson (Jonsi) solemnly sings in his falsetto voice. Some grittier vocals come in with Pall Jenkins of Black Heart Procession, who doesn't sound entirely comfortable against the light, tinkly music.

The Album Leaf tries out the Icelandic sound with mixed result in "In A Safe Place." This pretty, lightweight music may be safe, but to make great music, you have to take a few risks.