Recorded in Sigur Ros country, further strengthening the bond the two groups formed on the road together in the states, performing on a bill that, at least on the stop I caught at Philadelphia's Tower Theater, seemed to run together in pure atmospheric bliss.

The truth is, I had never paid much attention to The Album Leaf prior to that show. Instrumental music, generally speaking, doesn't rank high up on my priority list - I like certain instrumental acts that come along (one of LaValle's many other bands Tristeza being one of them), but don't go out of my way looking for them. They tend to be a dime or dozen as most bands often are that flood a particular genre or fad once it becomes hip.

While occasional singing crops up throughout this record - by LaValle himself along with Black Heart Procession's Pall Jenkins and Sigur Ros' Jon Thor Birgisson - it is still a mostly instrumental affair that more or less sucks in the listener right with the very first sparkling drone of the synthesizer in the opening track "Window."

Landscape, atmospheric, ephemeral, heavenly, cinematic, lush, ambient are eerie are typical words you might hear to describe this slow moving yet melodic soundscape. And while patience is certainly a virtue in listening to any artist unconcerned with forcing a two-minute hook-infested anthem into your brain ‹ the flipside of those positive adjectives are words like boring, overblown and pretentious ‹ I find the transitions most indicative of In A Safe Place's brilliance. It doesn't come across sounding like one long song so much as it sounds like chapters or scenes in a movie filmed on location in beautiful isolated Iceland.

LaValle's understanding and appreciation for classical music - he's classically trained on piano and yet can credit crunching noise act The Locust as one of many bands he's played with - is evident in the addition of a string ensemble, glockesnspiel and various percussion instruments that add texture and dimension to the songs.

One might criticize that the Sigur Ros influence has rubbed off on The Album Leaf's sound, but if any group's sound rubbing off on you is a good thing it's certainly Sigur Ros'. On its own merit, In A Safe Place stands alone as one of the finest compositions of the year and should, at the very least, solidify LaValle as the musical genius he clearly has proven himself to be.

posted 12.15.04

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----- Matt Ralph has bags full of bad CD's. Add to his collection at matt@tangzine.com