The Album Leaf - Seal Beach EP
(Acuarela)
After being the opening act for Sigur Ros on their American tour, The Album Leaf's Jimmy Lavalle arranged to record his next album with them and members of Mum and Black Heart Procession, sparking a change in label to Sub Pop for what is sure to be a high profile release. In the meantime, The Album Leaf offers five new songs on an Acuarela EP, Seal Beach, which, aside from a guest violin part on one song, are made entirely by Lavalle. While that may seem like a stop-gap before the big new album, In a Safe Place, when Lavalle is by himself, he is really at his best. The simpler and barer his songs feel, the better he can express tenderness and romanticism through nuance and warm tones. "Brennivin" is a great example, mixing two keyboard melodies with a programmed drum track and swells of violin (so soft they're unrecognizable). The lead keyboard melody is pure and direct, and on its own the track may come off as Pure Moods new age. However, the countermelody is much more nonlinear and intriguing; at first you don't even notice it's there, but after 5 or 6 listens, it becomes the most prominent part of the track, and what your ear follows. "One Minute" is also outstanding, this time Lavalle using an acoustic guitar. Lavalle rarely uses the acoustic (one example being the great duet with violin "Airplane" from his debut album) so this could be considered something of a treat. It's a soft, quiet picking of the guitar, Lavalle playing both a fast-paced rhythmic piece and a gentle, more methodical lead melody. Little is used to accent the guitar, except an uplifting keyboard progression at the very end, but it's the sort of breezy, melancholic folk song like works by Drake, Greg Davis, or Keith Christmas that's hard to resist. EP leadoff "Malmo" is Lavalle at his most upfront, using a more dance-inspired beat and taking more inspiration from laptop/electronic artists like Four Tet by mixing in found sounds like this hiss and static of a record player. The drum machine glitch, though, is more of an afterthought in Lavalle's music; he's not trying to impress us with technical wizardry but rather with melody and tone, and the addition of programmed beats works well with this song, propelling the gliding, sentimental melody. Seal Beach is Lavalle's most satisfying release since his debut, perhaps due to its bare, loose feel. One has to hope that the upcoming release will keep the same feel, as so many extra people have been brought in.
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