The Album Leaf - A Chorus of Storytellers (2010)

This is another very pretty album from Mr. LaValle. This is his fifth, and is maybe a small step down from Into the Blue Again (2006). It’s mostly instrumentals that rely on ambiance and makes great use of piano and synthesizers to create its atmosphere. I generally like when he sings, as he did on a couple of great songs from Into the Blue Again, but the vocals on “Falling From the Sun” and “We Are” feel too much like the centerpiece of the songs, and I would prefer them to compliment the soundscapes rather than distracting from them. “There is a Wind” and “Almost There” are tracks with vocals that work well, however, maybe because it feels as though the vocals fit the melodies a bit better. His vocals are really devoid of emotion but have a nice sort of echo to them that works well with the keyboards and ringing synthesizers. While much of this album is truly beautiful, he’s really going to need to make some changes to his sound. Five albums in, it’s beginning to approach stagnation. Hopefully next time the music will have something to make it unique and fresh, like he sounded the first time I heard him. Picking out highlights seems foolish since the album really doesn’t differ all that much from track to track, but I’ll be foolish and go with “Falling From the Sun” and “Tied Knots” simply because of their stunning melodies. Chances are, you’ll be using this as background music while focusing on something else, like studying or housework, and it’s likely to sort of float by unless you make a distinct effort to pay attention, but if you do, you’ll hear some very pleasant music.

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