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      imAGE  
         
 
Recording:
  Future Falling
 
 
Artist:
  The Album Leaf
 
 
Label:
  Eastern Glow Recordings
 
 
Release Date:
  5.May.2023  
 
Reviewed by:
  PostLibyan  
         
 
Rating:
   
         
 
Review:
 

The Album Leaf is still a going concern. It has been a long time (seven years) since i last heard from them on 2016's Between Waves and later during the tour for that album, when i dragged the Girlfriend (a known Deadhead) along to see them perform at Terminal West. They did an excellent set of complicated ambient pop to a mostly empty club. And then it seems like the band faded away....

But during the intervening years James Lavelle (the only constant member of the band) has been doing other things instead of working on this act. Such as making ambient tracks for the meditation app Calm. Huh, that is the meditation app that i use. I knew they had a music section, just like i know they have a series of videos of LeBron James teaching you about mindfulness in basketball (or something like that), but i have never explored those sections of the app too fully. I just checked, and there is a 60 minute track from The Album Leaf in the app. I guess that i will need to check that out at some point...

Moving back to the focus of this review, LaVelle is finally back with another album from The Album Leaf. At this point, you should know what you are getting into: layers of synths moving in washes with light melodies. Subtle beats that occasionally get a little faster. Groovy ambient electronica for listening, relaxing, doing whatever. I like this kind of stuff on as i am working at my IT day job.

That said, there are a few tracks that stand out from the haze.

The first two i want to mention are notable in that LaVelle has brought in two female singers to collaborate with him. The first of these, chronologically on the album is Afterglow and it features vocals by Kimbra. You remember her, right? She was someone that you used to know, way back in 2011. Or maybe she was someone Gotye used to know... At any rate, here she is adding her clear voice to an Album Leaf track. Synths burble and drums tap in a subdued manner as Kimbra sings clearly and slowly, her voice aching. A very nice addition to what Lavelle is doing.

Later in the album comes Near, which is listed as "featuring Bat for Lashes". I find that interesting, as Bat For Lashes is the solo project of a British singer named Natasha Khan. I guess they use her act name and not her actual name here, because people are more likely to recognize that immediately. At any rate, Khan sounds sort of like Kimbra, at least vocally: a clear voice, breathy, speaking the words for the most part and singing lightly occasionally. And again, this type of vocal goes well with the hazy synths that Lavelle is working with. On this tune the music is glitchier than on Afterglow. With the clipped beats, i think it works better with the vocals than the subtle drumming used on Afterglow. But your mileage will vary, and ultimately both are very similar tunes.

The other eight tracks on the album are non-vocal. Prologue, Breathe, Give In, and Stride are pretty much straight up Album Leaf tracks. I think they could have fit on a previous album just fine. These are the tracks you came here to listen to.

On Cycles Lavelle takes a more dub-like approach tot he music, and ends up reminding me strongly of fellow ambient artist Loscil. On Future Falling LaVelle drives the song along with sparkling keyboard line that reminds me of something from the 1980s, something that is just beyond the tip of the tongue... And Epilogue ends the albu8m with some nice horns, drifting off into the distance.

And finally there is Dust Collects. This starts with a clicking beat and a nice keyboard bit, then grows to be kind of epic with a real density to the sound. At about 3 minutes in, the music parts and a mournful horn sounds through, before the song builds back up again with layers of synths, strings, guitars, a clicking beat. That little interlude really makes the song shine. Very nice.

If you like this sort of ambient pop, then The Album Leaf continues to delight.

 
         
 
Related Links:
 

https://thealbumleaf.bandcamp.com/album/future-falling
https://thealbumleaf.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheAlbumLeaf
Also on EvilSponge:
   EP: In An Off White Room
   Concert: Thu.26.Jul.01

 
         

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