Artist Of The Day: The Album Leaf

The Album Leaf has come a long way, especially for a one-man project. Jimmy LaValle works endlessly to sample and mix and find just what kinds of sounds he wants to premiere on his next big thing. His latest endeavors include an EP that I didn't get to cover last year, but wanted to talk about; Forward/Return represents The Album Leaf's progression incredibly well. "Descent" beautifully captures how effortless he can layer mellow sounds in order to get melodies reminiscent of his work as far back as In A Safe Place, while "Images" paints a different picture, something slightly out of what LaValle's produced before, but nonetheless smooth and flowing like the rest of his material.

The other thing LaValle's been busy with is the new compilation album with Sun Kil Moon. Perils From The Sea is coming, and the three songs available off the album are incredible. "What Happened To My Brother" uses Kozelek's vocals, 8-bit background effects, and not a whole lot else to create a bittersweet tune that echoes what both artists are capable of. The duo wrote the one song, and decided they worked so well together they wanted an entire album out of it, according to TinyMixTapes. And when you listen to any song they've recorded together that's available to listen to, you can genuinely hear how well the two artists' styles flow into one another, which makes the upcoming release all the more interesting.

Until then, you can watch their Facebook page for news, and check out their SoundCloud page to listen to what they've released so far. The album drops April 30th.