Into the Blue Again [ENHANCED]

The Album Leaf

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2006)
• Original Release Date: September 12, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Sub Pop
• ASIN: B000H7JA98
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #67,543 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

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A more intense and realized record.. with lusher strings and vocal harmonies..taking sonic peregrinations that suggest he's hit the mere beginning of a damn impressive creative side. - (Steven Leckart)

Product Description

Jimmy LaValle's varied experience includes stints with Tristeza, The Locust, GoGoGo Airheart, The Blackheart Procession, and Sigur Ros. "Into The Blue Again" sees LaValle handling the bulk of the vocal and instrumental duties. After tracking, he took the concentric billows of feathered keyboards, filmy strings, and chiseled drums to Iceland for three weeks of mixing to tape to maintain Brian Eno-informed translucence. Having shared so much time and space with others on the road, LaValle proves, with this personally charged release, that The Album Leaf resonates most profoundly when he goes it alone.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great album, September 19, 2006

By	William R. Elenbark (Monmouth Junction, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The new Album Leaf album Into the Blue Again was released last week to relatively little fanfare with an advance track that I liked but didn't love, so it took me over a week to actually purchase the new CD. I'm not sure why. I've loved each of their previous releases, from the completely wordless but beautiful One Day I'll Be on Time to the more filled-out arrangements (and Sigur Ros influence) of In a Safe Place. And this collection does not disappoint. The Album Leaf started as a side project to Jimmy LaValle's Tristeza, which is more electronic based, but LaValle has really expanded his sound into an ambient masterwork, somewhat similar to Sigur Ros, and approximating some of the lighter sounding tracks of Mogwai.

LaValle does some more singing on this new album, and while I thought the vocal tracks on In a Safe Place were the highlights, creating a welcome change of pace to the same-ness that plagued One Day I'll Be on Time, the sung songs are unfortunately the weak points of this album. But those minor down points are more than made up for on the rest of the album, which features some of the most beautifully melodic tracks I've heard this year. Opener "The Light" kicks this off with understated brilliance and is followed by the aforementioned "Always for You", a good but not great song. Then "Shine" hits you and it takes a while to recover. Just an almost perfect song as LaValle confidently applies his craft, creating shimmering beauty out of several instruments that blend together into a seamless form. According to the liner notes, "Shine" uses violins, Rhodes piano, keyboards, synthesizers, bass guitar, glockenspiel, drums, and drum programming, all but the violin performed by LaValle himself. How he creates such wonderful music by basically programming a machine is amazing to me.

The rest of the album includes other highlights, almost equally as wonderful, including instrumental tracks "Red-Eye" and "Into the Sea". Of the ten songs, LaValle sings (or mostly sing-speaks) on three of them and the other seven are all just about perfectly rendered. Closing track "Broken Arrow" brings back memories of older Album Leaf tracks, with the beeps and bits emerging amongst the minor-key piano strumming. That works well too. A great, great album. Well done, Mr. Lavalle.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mystical Quality, June 23, 2007

By	Christopher Allison - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In William James' classic The Varieties of Religious Experiences, buried deep in the 400 page work is a passing comment concerning music's appeal to one's mystical sensibility. Into the Blue Again is a great album that captures nearly flawlessly that mystical quality that is so attractive to some people. What I enjoy about it the most is that it captures this quality without being barbaric, eccentric, or abrasive. Into the Blue Again is peaceful and transcendent while at the same time powerful, both familiar and new at the same time.

5.0 out of 5 stars Music That Helps You, April 23, 2009

By	Seth Burrows (Perth W.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: INTO THE BLUE AGAIN (Vinyl)

This album is beautiful. Comprising of mostly instrumental tracks it is a very easy listen. I find I have been listening to this one (MP3 format) a lot at work. As there are very few lyrics, I do not focus too much on what is going on in the song and I find it helps me think and relax when focusing on my work. At the same time when I want to really listen to the album (vinyl) I am just as impressed with the intricacy and layers of sound in each track.
This album for me was a chance discovery. So even if you are not a big fan of chilled out instrumental music, give this one a go. It is absolutely fantastic and has made it in to my all time favorite albums list.
The vinyl edition is very simple. One record in a sleeve with a sheet of liner notes included. Nothing too fancy there.