ALBUM LEAF, THE
FUTURE FALLING (EASTERN GLOW RECORDINGS)
Label:
EASTERN GLOW RECORDINGS
Jimmy LaValle's The Album Leaf has spun from solo outlet to full band and back in its nearly 25 years.
His acclaimed catalog spans releases for labels such as Sub Pop, City Slang, Relapse, and others.
He also composes music for film and television, scoring over 20 projects (narrative features, documentaries, and TV series) since 2009.
The cinematic sensibilities of The Album Leaf were present from the beginning. His 1999 debut introduced the start of a signature sound: melodic and meditative electro-organic soundscapes constructed with guitar, percussion, Rhodes, and field recordings.
LaValle sees the construction of FUTURE FALLING as less conventional than past work. Contributions were done remotely with a "throw everything at it" mindset, making LaValle the arranger of layers from all over: drums, synths, horns, violins, voice, and more.
LaValle created a pastiche of these layers and elements; in some cases even moving vocal takes to new tracks entirely.
Without the in-the-room dynamics, he had more time to experiment, adding and subtracting ad infinitum.
The album opens on "PROLOGUE," an evocative, slow-building instrumental that rides a pattern into a symphonic sea of static.
Keys and horns glide atop the rhythmic pulse of "DUST COLLECTS," setting the contemplative scene for "AFTERGLOW," the record's most pop-minded performance.
Here Kimbra, the Grammy-winning New Zealand singer-songwriter, renders a striking recollection of past love as percussive elements shimmer and swirl.