Leaves In The River

I realize that I’ve been slipping quite a bit in my time between updates on this blog but just because I have 4 final projects due next week and my computer is still at Apple getting a new hard drive, doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten about this blog. It’s just been harder to knock some time out of my day to think about music lately (I’m still listening to music obviously, attempting to think about and review new music is a different story). Hopefully, you the readers, can bear with me until my classes have winded down and I have some more time to dedicate here. One album that I would like to recommend that I think deserves some more attention is Leaves in the River by Sea Wolf (the moniker of singer/songwriter Alex Brown Church).

Earlier this year, I talked up Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low, the debut EP from Sea Wolf and said the band has “a full length coming out earlier this year, and if this EP is any indication, it’ll be one to mark your calenders for.” Well, I was never that good at marking my calendar and the album’s September release date went by without acknowledgment from me, but after seeing the album pop up on a couple year-end lists I decided I need to get a hold of it (luckily I found an unopened copy in my pile of promo CDs). The appeal of the band to me is the well-crafted and intricate detail in the songs and a dark, forlorn emotive quality that continues to remind me of some of Conor Oberst’s more accomplished works. The biggest standout on the album is “Black Dirt”, which begins stripped-down and foreboding, before delivering with a jangly, dissonant guitar solo and a string arrangement that gives the song it’s haunting atmosphere. “You’re A Wolf”, a carry-over from the EP, is equally as stirring and acts a centerpiece for the album. Leaves in the River and Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low are available at Dangerbird Records, the band’s label.

MP3 Sea Wolf – Black Dirt
MP3 Sea Wolf – You’re A Wolf