Leaves in the River

Sea Wolf | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dangerbird
• ASIN: B000UGG3IW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,413 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #30 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Chamber Pop

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[D]eep-hued but airily underscored folk-pop miniatures that use tenebrous cellos and salty accordions to underpin images of ghost sails, gypsy premonitions and wandering wolves." --Mojo

"Wonderfully crafted....The group effortlessly fuse bluesy alt.country melodies with a folk ethic and Church's enchanting lyrics, which tell various dreamy stories, all of which make compelling listening." --Clash Magazine

Product Description

The songs on this debut full-length are awash with longing for distant places visited, lived, and loved, and are molded by the geography of singer/songwriter Alex Brown Church's past - the long, winding descent from the Sierra foothills to the hazy shores of the Barbary Coast. Lofting, arching melodies over foggy, elegiac pop and folk structures. The impression left by these songs lasts long after they've packed up and moved on. Produced by Phil Ek (The Shins, Built To Spill, Band Of Horses).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great LP follow up to the recent EP release, October 1, 2007

By 

WarriorPrncess - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaves in the River (Audio CD)

I reviewed the EP, Get to the River Before It Runs too Low, back in May. I wanted to reiterate how fantastic this artist/band is, and to encourage people to support indie music as innovative and unique as Sea Wolf.

As I mentioned in my review of the EP, Alex Church, the lead singer and founder of Sea Wolf, was a founding member of my favorite band, Irving. His songwriting skills are amazing. The LP just released is Leaves in the River, and as with the EP it perfectly showcases his ability to write beautiful and engaging songs. My personal favorite is still You're a Wolf, but every song he writes continues to find a way to burrow into my subconscious.

While I lament the fact that Alex is no longer with Irving, I rejoice in the beauty that is Sea Wolf and am so thankful he is still bringing new songs into the world. If you get a chance, do yourself a favor and go see Sea Wolf play live - they blew me away when I saw them play the noise pop festival.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just keeps getting better and better!, October 9, 2007

By 

Ryan Murphy (Seattle, Wa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leaves in the River (Audio CD)

I had already discovered the single "you're a wolf" on iTunes a while back and knew I would like the band. I had no idea how much this record would continue to grow on me. I have listened to it completely, end to end, at least 40 times know and it just doesn't get old. The last half of the record really starts to settle in. Saw them live in Seattle, they sound just as good in person.

Buy this album and but a second one for a friend!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A haunting quality that lingers beyond the final notes, July 21, 2008

By 

loce_the_wizard "loce_the_wizard" (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Leaves in the River (Audio CD)

Kudos to Alex Church and his ensemble of supporting musicians for adding a distinctive voice to the legions of modern story tellers, including bands such as Midlake, The Decemberists, and Cowboy Junkies. Mr. Church takes the universal themes of romance, angst, tragedy, and mortality and wraps them in an organic veneer, yet he avoid being maudlin, derivative, or trite. His images and metaphors have a haunting quality that despite their nod to the impermanence of things, linger beyond the final notes from these songs.

Thankfully, he has not tried to make this effort a one-man-band, for the cast of musicians playing his songs render then fresher and deeper than if Mr. Church had handled this work as a solo endeavor. Here's hoping for much music along these lines!