The Album Leaf

Multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle has ploughed a remarkably consistent furrow since he started The Album Leaf in 1998. The group's mellow, digitally tweaked post-rock hasn't changed a whole lot over the course of five albums: even when LaValle stopped playing all the instruments himself and let his touring band take over on last year's A Chorus of Storytellers, it didn't make much discernible difference. For fans – who include Icelandic act Sigur Rós – this probably won't cause much consternation, but it'd be nice to see The Album Leaf shake things up just a little from time to time.