With the news that
Jimmy LaValle
's solo project
the Album Leaf
had recorded an LP for
Sub Pop
at the same studio in Mosfellsbaer, Iceland, previously placed on the musical map by
Sigur Ros
(and including several members of the band in tow),
indie
fans began to imagine a transatlantic version of
the Postal Service
, perfectly ripe for crossover one year after
's
debut,
Give Up
, ruled the college charts.
LaValle
's first two full-lengths as
were gorgeous and meditative, putting him in perfect company with
; his best pieces, including
"Wet the Day"
from
One Day I'll Be On Time
, possessed a quiet, unchanging stillness that neatly connected the dots between
ambient
legends
Claude Debussy
,
Cluster
Roger Eno
Oval
, and
themselves.
In a Safe Place
, however, includes no magic to compare to his earlier work. The album is exactly the sum of its parts, perhaps less and definitely no more.
retains his heavily textural,
impressionist
flair, but has begun to repeat himself heavily, with none of the freshness or vigor of previous material. He also sacrifices nearly all of the record's precious atmosphere by insisting on a basic drum kit track to drive many of the tracks (though later in the record, he turns to a skittery digital percussion that favors these songs). Only one piece hints at the record's full power,
"Over the Pond,"
on which
plays a simple, slightly changing
Satie
line on keyboards while the full
trio are heard for the first time, playing up their brand of studied melancholy with help from cello and violin. The only other notable success is
"On Your Way,"
which features
with
Pall Jenkins
, his collaborator in
the Black Heart Procession
. ~ John Bush