The Album Leaf Boasts A True Chorus On Latest Albums
A Chorus of Storytellers offers a sophisticated take on ambient sounds.
The Album Leaf
A Chorus of Storytellers
Released on Feb 02, 2010
Consistent musicians are highly
underrated. Far too often, artists that put out one mind-blowing album
in an otherwise unimpressive career get more attention than artists
who continually produce great music. Sure, “great” isn’t the same
as “mind-blowing,” but I’d say that a consistent career should
be more lauded than one that resembles a supernova.
I find myself thinking of The
Album Leaf in these terms. I’ll go a few months without listening
to them; then an album of theirs comes up on shuffle, and all of the
sudden it’s all I want to listen to. They’ve got the ambient market
cornered as far as I’m concerned. But for people waiting for The Album
Leaf’s brain child (Jimmy LaVelle) to push the boundaries of his contented
electronic sound, A Chorus of Storytellers does just that.
It’s the first album to feature a full live band, and while the songs still feature LaVelle’s signature calm tones, they’ve got a more layered sound, which makes the album intriguing, instead of just pleasantly listenable. The opening track provides an apt preview of what’s to come, because listeners are treated to many of the instruments that the album utilizes in addition to the electronic foundation. His lyrics are hypnotic, and they fit surprisingly well with this more fleshed-out sound.
That being said, the best tracks
on A Chorus of Storytellers are lyric-less and all the better
for that—the two standouts are “Stand Still” and “Summer Fog.”
In both cases, the band does such an incredible job of building to a
climax that it’s almost unbearable. I wish there was a less cliché
description than cinematic—and I’m sure there is—but I’m saying
it anyway: they’re downright cinematic. If you want a small preview,
find your way to approximately 2:20-the end on “Summer Fog.” The
violin, piano, and horn parts are almost appallingly simple, but when
played in tandem, the song becomes otherworldly.
The only misstep in this new sound can be heard on “Perro.” I can’t get behind the found audio files that have what sounds like a conversation between a mother and her child going on in the background. Perhaps it was mixed in to make the track more interesting, but it sounds cheesy and vaguely creepy instead.
Save for that track though, A Chorus of Storytellers is stunning. I’m not sure I want to hear this outfit sans a full band ever again. While I’ll still frequent LaVelle’s simpler albums, the fuller sound on this is too engrossing to only listen to every couple of months.
High Point
I’m standing by those blissful minutes on “Summer Fog,” but “Until the Last” is the energetic counterpart to “Summer Fog.”
Low Point
“Perro.” It’s the shortest track on the album, but it still seems to go on for too long.
Posted by Alyssa Vincent on Feb 02, 2010 @ 6:30 am
