At times, The Album Leafs’ A Chorus of Storytellers is upthe in the ranks with the best of Post-Rock/Ambient music. Yet it also seems to have anotheragenda, to be the best genre-bending band in the world!
The song ‘Perro’ blends talking, chants and electronicstatic with post-rock (take your) time signatures. ‘Blank Pages’borrows its influence from Sigur Ros (the album was mixed by Jón Birgisson of Sigur Ros) to create an expansive sound evoking windswept prairies. ‘Within Dreams’ is the best work on thealbum, mixing complicated electronic beats with legato violins, keyboards andguitars.
But…there are many songs on the album that fall flat from tryingtoo many things at once.‘Falling from the Sun’ is on this edge. It’s lyric based, yet also attempts to incorporate legatoviolins, electronic beats, real drum beats, keyboards, etc…it quickly getsmessy or maybe just more complicated than it needs to be. ‘We Are’ goes theopposite way with a heavy rock beats and bass, then a guitar and legato voice.It’s an unprovoked style change that’s unsettling.
Overall, A Chorus of Storytellers lacks the characteristicsthat make Sigur Ros and Boards of Canada significant. Boards of Canada and Sigur Ros hold consistency in theirwork whilst expanding and incorporating new sounds. The Album Leaf is trying too many things and appear to lackvision. Their experimentation did leave some lovely gems though….
-7.7/10
www.thealbumleaf.com
A CHORUS OF STORY TELLERS is available from ROAD RECORDS