Leaves - Angela Test
This is the second album from the Icelandic five-piece, following up their debut 'Breathe' which was released in 2002 to critical acclaim. By the sound of the music they produce it is quite clear that the British alternative music scene has played a key role in their musical education. You can here influences from a number of UK acts from the seventies through to the present day, but despite this there is still enough about this record to make it unique and not simply a collection of imitations of other established acts.
A great example of the sort of comparisons that can be found on 'The Angela Test' is 'Shakma, The Drunken Skies', which is the seven minute album opener. Imagine Radiohead or Elbow meeting Pink Floyd on a relaxed summers afternoon. It has the airy weirdness of Floyd with the vocal sound being reminiscent of Tom York or Guy Garvey. Just to throw in yet another comparison, the track overall has the same striking epic qualities of 'Seeder Room' or ;There goes the fear’ by Doves. The Doves theme runs through many of the tracks and you can hear their sound in the second track, the dreamy ‘Whatever’.
Although it is ultimately a chilled album, 'The Angela Test' does have some more rocky moments, but these still retain the overall mellow feel of the record, 'The Spell', which was the first single to be released in support of this album is a good example of this. Interestingly they sort the input of Kraftwork on the completion of this track, which does seem strange when you hear it as it’s not a partnership that is obvious but does suggest they have it in them to develop the electronic side of their music. That said I think the Leaves sound suits a more up-tempo and rocky style and I would have liked there to have been more of this. Track 6, 'Good Enough' does exactly that as it is more funky and a definite change of pace to previous tracks. For this reason it stands out as one of the album highlights and would also suit a single release.
Although coming from Iceland, Leaves have managed to come up with this years "lazing on a summers afternoon" album which may be a surprising statement given their homeland. Something that it will have contributed to is the mysterious, aerie and earie atmosphere that the record creates as Icelandic culture has real mystical and magical qualities to it.
This is an album that appears to be from a band that is developing in confidence and although it may not be the kind of thing that will break through into the mainstream, the evolution of their music will be one to watch with interest, I’d be very interested to see what kind of live show they put on as well.