The Album Leaf - In A Safe Place

While there are many great instrumental bands out there, I think we can all agree that The Album Leaf is a cut above most and has no shortage of great musical ideas.

This album is an amazing blend of instrumentation, sound effects, and outstanding percussive creativity. The Album Leaf is the solo project of Jimmy LaValle of Tristeza. He has recorded many other albums including (but not limited to) "An Orchestrated Rise To Fall," One Day I'll Be On Time", etc. Because of his multi-instrumental talents, he is able to record whole albums with pretty much just himself.
The thing about In A Safe Place that distinguishes it from the rest of his work is how it was made. While most of The Album Leaf's albums are recordings of LaValle's improvisations, this album was made with the help of Sigur Ros and recorded in their studio. The fact that it was recorded with Sigur Ros gives it a unique blend and somewhat of a different style, which contributes to its uniqueness. There are songs on the album such as "Thule" which are more upbeat and lively, while other songs such as "Over The Pond" have a few foreign lyrics and create a wonderful emotional mood. Of course, the Album Leaf is still 99% instrumental!

Breakdown:

The pianos on this album are wonderful. While LaValle has been making music for many years, he still manages to come up with new and completely unique ideas on his Rhodes piano. His expression is perfect for the style he is going for, and just about everything he does on the ivories contributes immensely to the songs.
The percussion on this album is also grand. While we do experience the familiar filtered drumbeats in the album a lot of times, there are a few tracks with a full set. Thule is one such song, and the beat is awesome. While much like most beats, the snare work and accents create a different sort of feel which fits right in with LaValle's keyboard work.
The guitars and bass on the album are also fantastic. The bass does not play a huge role in The Album Leaf's songs, but does add a lot and keep things together, while forcing the lower end of the songs to a wonderful level. The guitars, also, are not very featured but are used enough to create a wonderful blend and a forceful point in the songs.
The strings, sound effects and voices, are much like the guitars. While not featured, they are used enough and in proper ways as to make the listening experience quite enjoyable.

Overall:

Overall, I would give the album a 8.5/10. It's a wonderful album that I would recommend to anyone for a wonderful listen!
Love,
Joseph

Art Brut - "It's a Bit Complicated"

Art Brut is an Indie/Punk Rock band from Deptford, England. They obtained their name from French artist Jean Debuffet's definition of outsider art, art done by people such as prisoners or the mentally ill. Art Brut is sometimes classified as "Art Wave", alongside other groups such as Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party. Art Brut currently has two releases: "Bang Bang Rock and Roll" and "It's A Bit Complicated". Both albums have their own qualities, though like most bands, the new one has a tighter and cleaner sound whereas their older one is a little bit edgier. The vocals of Art Brut are particularly unique. Rather than singing the lines, lead vocalist Eddie Argos speaks the lines in a timed manner, allowing Argos' strong British accent to shine through. The instruments blend in very well with his vocal style, making the songs flow effortlessly. "It's a Bit Complicated", although it does tend to drag on at points, has an overall enjoyable quality. With well done musicianship, well-written lyrics and a truly distinguished style, Art Brut is bound to appeal to a wide array of listeners.

Rating: 4/5

-Jared

who doesn't love this girl?

m.i.a.
"paper planes"

Bell Orchestre - Recording a Tape the Colours of the Light

ian says:

while doing a little reading, i came across this album. it was a rather pleasant surprise to find out that this canadian instrumental five-piece contains several members of arcade fire (who just happen to be amazing). i thought it was bangin' that the band's instruments of choice are: upright bass, violin, french horn, trumpet, and drums/percussion. however when the album starts out with their first "recording a tunnel..." track i had a bad feeling that that song's sleepy tones would be the feeling of the entire album. . . i was wrong.
things really get moving on the third song, "les lumières pt. 2". from there it's mostly strings, horns, and good times. things take an unexpected turn with the song "recording a tape... (typewriter duet)". as the title suggests, there are actual typewriters being pounded away on. it's pretty slick, you'll just have to hear it for yourself.

the upside: even though it is becoming commonplace for classical instruments to be used in indie music, it's still really neat-o to hear them played right. who knew that a good old violin and some hand claps could still get people going. it was also nice to have a purely instrumental band that's not the typical cliche post-rock. i imagine that this is a group that would be a joy to watch live. for those who are used to music that is a little out of the norm, i would definitely suggest bell orchestre

the downside: ah, what can i say? some parts of the album are a little pretentious. for example the last track "recording a tunnel (invisible bells)" is 13 minutes of ambient horn sounds played over what sounds like an ocean tide accompanied by the occasional clang on an old bell. it's a little taxing to listen to. there are several tracks that tend to drudge along with no real clear focus ("the bells play the band"). if you can just skip over a useless track here or there you'll be tickled by this album.

rating: 3/5

:)

El Ten Eleven - El Ten Eleven

Joe Says:

El Ten Eleven is an instrumental duet consisting of bassist Kristian Dunn and percussionist (note "percussionist," not "drummer") Tim Fogarty. They released their self-titled debut in 2004.
The album itself is filled with insane amounts of bass-creative leads and out-of the-box drumbeats. There is no doubt that these two musicians understand their craft and what they are trying to accomplish. One listen to the first track "My Only Swerving" and you can tell that this band has it goin' on.
Don't, of course, get the wrong idea of ETE. They're not some jam-band centric "drum 'n bass" group thrown together in a Seattle garage. While the skilled Dunn does maintain a lot of leads in the bass area, there are a vast amount of guitars which carry the songs and create the moods and emotions One would hardly realize that the members covered but the rhythm section unless told otherwise.
The only downside to the album is the amount of tapping. It seems that in most (if not all) of the songs there are whole sections involving a bass-lead and guitar tapping. It sounds great at first glance, but listening to the album completely through proves a bit boring and repetitive.
As for the drum part of the arsenal: wonderful. Fogarty knows exactly what to play to make the songs not sound completely spacey and unorganized, while not inappropriately stuffing 16th-note fills in every heartfelt emotional climax that the tracks produce. The use of sporadic loops also greatly enhances the songs, and I give him an ample dosage of Joe-prop. As a whole, this album definitely has my seal of approval.

My Rating: 7/10

Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...

Ian says:

i don't know about you, but "collective" bands can sometimes get a little old. ever since broken social scene became the biggest thing since sliced bread, it seems there has been an increasing number of bands with and increasing number of members. now don't get me wrong, there are some really good ones out there (i.e. arcade fire, the most serene republic). it just seems like it has become the "it" thing to have a big band. i just wish someone would shake it up a little bit...

enter los campesinos!...

THE UPSIDE: from the title of the first song ("death to los campesinos!") off of their full-length debut, hold on now youngster you know that this is a band that will not get caught up in taking itself too seriously. they are fast. they are loud. and they are twee? it's definitely a refreshing mix to be sure. you can tell that the welsh band is just in this to have fun... and that's always a good thing.

DOWNSIDE: i would recommend them as a fun listen (a very fun listen), but that's really all. they won't really challenge your thought process at all. also, the album tends to drag a little bit towards the end. the songs become a little formulaic and forgettable.

rating: 3.5 / 5

the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

so joe, jared, and i (ian) decided that we would start a collective blog about music... basically we all love music and we all love sharing music so if you have spare time and have nothing better to do, you can come on here and find out about new music, old music, or just whatever music we want to talk about. all three of us will be contributing so hopefully our individual tastes will start to become evident to the readers (if we get any readers). we hope you enjoy reading. blah.

p-p-p-peace!