Originally released in Spain, on Acuarela Records, in 2003, this Stateside reissue is fleshed out with new violin parts, a rare track (“For Jonathan”), and five previously unreleased live tracks with Sigur Ros sitting in, making for a whopping 10-track EP.
When Jimmy LaValle isn’t contributing to Tristeza, San Diego’s artful torrent of noise, he is composing more introspective works as The Album Leaf.
A veteran of such esteemed San Diego hardcore outfits as Swing Kids, The Locust, and Gogogo Airheart, LaValle shows his calm, quiet side with these mostly instrumental songs built from soothing, shimmering layers of synthesizer, guitar, strings, and percussion that fall over each other like waterfalls tumbling into murky, rippling pools. Sometimes the songs sound like they’re moving backwards and forwards at the same time. This is music to fuel beautiful melancholy, the kind of songs you turn to when you want to wallow in your feelings. These pieces are less momentous in scale than Tristeza’s, but equally dynamic; here, LaValle explores similar melodies and emotions, expanding small jazzy motifs into grander statements.
