So we are due for another Musicbath posting as it has been over a few weeks since we have had one. Due to the fact that most of my new music purchased lately has been older stuff, this is going to be focused on an older release.

I developed a taste for Camera Obscura very quickly. I attribute my immediate approval to the fact that I was currently going through a big Belle and Sebastian phase (Another solid Scottish indie rock band) and the fact that I loved Tracyanne Campbell's voice. I had picked up their most recent release last year (LET'S GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY) and I loved every track, from start to finish. So, like I typically do when I love something, I picked up their back catalog over the past few months.

Camera Obscura has put out 3 LP's since their founding 1996 (LGOOTC was released in 2006; UNDERACHIEVERS PLEASE TRY HARDER in 2003). BIGGEST BLUEST HI-FI was released back in 2001 and it definitely provides you with where the band's sound has developed. A lot of indie fans consider C.O. a poor woman's Belle and Sebastian as their music is very similar with lots of organ and layered orchestration (consisting of strings and horns) under mostly introspective lyrics and vocals.

On BIGGEST BLUEST HI-FI, there is clearly a theme. It is to create a poppy sound with lyrics of longing and descriptions of life events. The music is far from complex but it is produced with an immaculate touch for detail and each song, with all of its flaws, comes through with complete clarity. Camera Obscura are not going to be receiving awards for breaking new ground in musical experimentation but they should get plenty of kudos for fusing 60's sounds into a 21st century theme.

Stand-outs on the debut BIGGEST BLUEST HI-FI would be "Happy New Year," "Eighties Fan," and "Pen and Notebook."

http://www.myspace.com/cameraobscuraband

Now it can be said that my taste in music may be labeled "eclectic" to say the least. I have been called many things, from "Music Snob" and "Music Elitist" to "Baldy" and everything in between. However, I have to say that I stand by my theory that the radio still does not play the best music that is being released today. With that being said, I don't believe that this artist would ever be very widely received via mainstream media. The Album Leaf (aka Jimmy LaValle) needs to be absorbed in a secluded location. It needs to be provided your uncompromising attention so you can hear all of the nuances, the bleeps and blips, that are intricately arranged in Lavalle's compositions. I fell in love with The Album Leaf this way and it began with IN A SAFE PLACE.

IN A SAFE PLACE is not the first Album Leaf disc (I believe it is the 3rd depending on how you view his previously self-released material). I came upon it via an endorsement by a band that I trust, Sigur Ros, because he recorded the album in Iceland. I thought it was worth a try and I was greatly rewarded with my purchase.

LaValle is the main composer of all of his work but his music has many layers that are added by others (namely drums, violin, some vocals on select tracks). There is really not one track on IN A SAFE PLACE that stands out to me as being above the rest (some might say Twentytwofourteen or Streamside are the highlights but I believe they are just colors in the picture that LaValle paints on this listening experience).

The Album Leaf is not for people who enjoy lyrics as they are missing from the majority of the music. It is pure instrumentation that typically is classified as neo-pop or post-rock. I don't like to put labels on music so I just call it one of the best albums I have bought in my short time on this planet.

Give The Album Leaf a shot when you have an hour to devote to them. And if you do like what you hear, get out and see them live. The visual displays that are done for the live shows compliment the music so well it is kind of scary.

Check out some of LaValle and The Album Leaf below

http://www.thealbumleaf.com/index.php?showMovies=true&movieNum=0