Album Leaf, the / In a Safe Place
Album: In a Safe Place   Collection:General
Artist:Album Leaf, the   Added:Jul 2004
Label:Sub Pop Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2004-08-09 Pull Date: 2004-10-11
Week Ending: Oct 10 Oct 3 Sep 26 Sep 19 Sep 12 Sep 5 Aug 29 Aug 22
Airplays: 4 2 3 3 2 4 3 5

Recent Airplay
1. Oct 15, 2014: Radio Personality
Twentytwofourteen
4. Apr 15, 2012: There and Back Again
Thule
2. Jun 22, 2012: Flipping Through Time
Eastern Glow
5. Feb 29, 2012: The Fall of Math
Twentytwofourteen
3. Jun 22, 2012: Flipping Through Time
Eastern Glow
6. Jan 22, 2012: No Voices Aloud
The Outer Banks

Album Review
Captain Dee
Reviewed 2004-07-22
Album Leaf (Jimmy LaValle) took a trip to Iceland and composed this album there with the help of guests like Gyda Valtysdottir (former Mum cellist), Pall Jenkins (Black Heart Procession) and Jon Thor Birgisson (of Sigur Ros).

The regular Album Leaf sound is still here: ultra-chill, endearing, electronically-based post-rock/acoustic ambient/pop. Think Rachels meets Mum meets Greg Davis. But this time there are some vocals – some from Pall, Birgisson, and even some from LaValle himself! I like the instrumental tracks better, but the vocals work well enough. You can totally picture the ensemble huddled around a fire in some house in Iceland. Great stuff!

My recommendation: Play tracks 1 & 2 together on continuous. They capture the heart of the album, and the transition gives me the "holy shit this is amazing" shivers.
Other favorites were tracks 5 & 7.

- Captain Dee (7/04)

**1. Beautiful ambience. Ethereal chorus of drawn-out beeps, cello, and occasional bass pulses. As if you're soaking up some wonderful, ineffable moment. (3:44)
**2. Infectious drum beat, warm keys, and violins. Album Leaf at its chill best. (4:23)
*3. Twangy guitars burst into a starry-eyed jam with a duet of vocals and glockenspiel. The break at 2:22 makes me really happy… (4:31)
4. Mellow keyboarding and glockenspiel, later joined by a fuller set of instruments. Tripping clicking beat. Strings provide a lush ending. (5:40)
**5. Blippy Mum-ish electronic beat, glockenspiel, organ, and cheerful keys. What a gorgeous, mesmerizing groove! Picks up in intensity over time. (4:23)
6. Duet of vocals (including the Sigur Ros guy) and high-pitched cooing. Twinkling keyboards with fuzzy background noise/instrumentation. (4:55).
**7. Comforting chorus of synths, endearing melody, another Mum-ish beat, poignant splashes of bass, and wistful violin. Conversation sample at end. (4:21)
*8. Tender duet of acoustic guitars with introspective strings and accordion. Pardon the videogame reference, but this reminds me of the Chrono Cross OST. Ends with another conversation sample. (3:34)
9. More warm ambience, soft (almost spoken) vocals, nostalgic cello and violin. Drum beat enters midway. (6:06)
10. Dreamy ambient keys and violin for 3 minutes. Ends with 6 minutes of barely audible folksy sounds that are way too quiet for radio. (9:22)

Track Listing
1. Window   6. Over the Pond
2. Thule   7. Another Day (Revised)
3. On Your Way   8. Streamside
4. Twentytwofourteen   9. Eastern Glow
5. The Outer Banks   10. Moss Mountain Town