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- Summary: Recorded in Seattle but remixed in Iceland by Jón Birgisson of Sigur Rós, A Chorus of Storytellers is the fifth album led by multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle of the Album Leaf.
- Record Label: Sub Pop
- Genre(s): Indie, Electronic, Alternative
- More Details and Credits »
Top Track
| Falling from the Sun | |
|---|---|
| If the sky is burning, when the clouds move in We come so close, when we just miss We can't see the start, we can't hide the end Find our way to... | See the rest of the song lyrics |
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 12 out of 19
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Mixed: 6 out of 19
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Negative: 1 out of 19
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However, as the album progresses, with its mix of violins, guitar, synths and fitful percussion, a paradoxical mood and feel is established – desolate yet comforting, glacial yet warm, remote yet intimate, never more so than on Summer Fog.
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UncutThe band's plush indietronica is still in place, but there's greater warmth and imagination, and real consistency. [Mar 2010, p.79]
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Traces of other San Diego bands like Pinback and LaValle's own Tristeza and the Black Heart Procession are distinctly here, culminating in mellow harmonies, relaxed bass lines and subtle ambient effects.
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While the decidedly middle-of-the-road mood of A Chorus of Storytellers won’t get anyone fired up, though, the way that mood is constructed is the album’s primary appeal.
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Sure, most of Chorus is pretty, but it's only that: Between the glistening guitars, cymbal washes, sighing strings, and electric piano, the beauty LaValle conjures is effortless but ultimately less impressive for not having any sort of contrast.
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All in all, A Chorus of Storytellers makes for better background music than a main attraction.
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LaValle’s been trading in spitshined tonal conventions and vacuum-sealed beauty for quite some time now, and this might well be his best effort at putting it to record. But there are already three Album Leaf LPs that do this exact same thing, and the prospect of him doing that thing slightly better simply fails to excite.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1 out of 1
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Mixed: 0 out of 1
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Negative: 0 out of 1
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MikeFeb 3, 2010
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