When
the Lucksmiths
folded in 2009, fans of their brand of heartfelt, subtly beautiful indie pop no doubt shed many a tear. Some tears for the joy the band's music brought them over the years, some in anticipation of there being no new music in the future. Well, weep no more, because three of
decided to get back together and make more music as
Last Leaves
, and their debut album,
Other Towns Than Ours
, is just as lovely as
' finest work. Songwriter and singer
Marty Donald
never stopped writing songs and when he had a decent batch built up, he called up bassist
Mark Monnone
and guitarist
Louis Richter
to see if they were game to give the music biz another whirl. With the addition of drummer
Noah Symons
, the band began working up a sound that had the warmth and tenderness of
, but which added some muscle to the guitars.
Richter
and
Donald
whip up some serious noise throughout the album, either on furious guitar solos or the occasional chugging riff. It's a shock to the system at first, hearing
's familiar voice and his usual lovelorn words, then having them blasted out of the room by some loud guitars. The opening tune, "Love and the World Well Lost," is a perfect example of this and sets the scene very nicely for the rest of the album. Fans of
' gentler side may feel that the guitars are too much, but those who don't mind their pop a little on the scrappy side might find that they add some welcome punch to the typically winsome melodies and melancholy feelings. These adventurous fans will find, too, that
has written a strong batch of songs, like the rollicking "Other Rivers" and "Third Thoughts," that conjure up the outskirts of the city where they were written, sweet ballads that rely on quiet arrangements and
's unadorned vocals ("The Last of the Light," "Where I Lived and What I Lived For") and few that legitimately rock in a way
never did ("The World We Had," "Something Falls").
are a near-perfect sequel to
-- keeping all the things that made them so special and adding some new wrinkles -- and
is a wonderful introduction to their new direction. ~ Tim Sendra