Tristeza
member
Jimmy LaValle
recorded
An Orchestrated Rise to Fall
under the moniker
the Album Leaf
(taken from a piece by
Chopin
) from September to November 1998.
LaValle
wrote, arranged, and performed most of this record, with only a couple of guests appearing here and there (some nice violin on
"Airplane"
). This album is mostly
plucking notes on his guitar or rambling on his electric piano in very quiet and linear instrumental tunes. A few samples are scattered around; a shower, a conversation, a snippet of
Deep Purple
's
"River Deep, Mountain High,"
but to little effect on the music. There are a few nice melodies with a
Debussy
-esque quality, although always delivered in a chloroform-induced depressive state. The drums appearing halfway in the very long
"A Short Story,"
which runs for almost 20 minutes, are much welcome. This song sounds like an attempt at copying a
Godspeed You Black Emperor!
climax-and-catharsis structure, but the result is not convincing. Poor production and sound quality don't help either. This release would be for collectors only. ~ Francois Couture