The Album Leaf - Future Falling 2LP

The San Diego–based project is now in its 25th year—that’s a lot of autumns and winters. Those are the times of year best-suited to LaValle’s designs, which gear toward the sullen like a grocery cart with a broken wheel. He usually hibernates for four to six years between albums; this one comes seven years after its predecessor, with an anniversary edition of 2001’s One Day I’ll Be on Time sandwiched in between. Regardless of how long it’s been since we last spotted The Album Leaf, the project has never sounded as broken and sad as this. But equally essential to the record are the moments of hope that bring temporary joy, like pedestrians occasionally tossing coins into the hat of a busking LaValle.