After The Rain Strange Seeds/Yellow Vinyl

Description

The London quartet The Leaf Library returns with their bold new album After The Rain, Strange Seeds, a luminous collection of pastoral indie pop inspired by suburban isolation, uncertain memory, and the strangeness of the climate. More direct and melodic than their previous records, the album blends crystalline guitars, buzzing organs, and warm strings, evoking Yo La Tengo, The Clientele, and the early days of Stereolab. The mixing by John McEntire, a collaborator of Stereolab and Yo La Tengo, brings clarity and depth to the whole. The album explores memory and places through an abstract veil, revisiting frozen moments like summers in the Chilterns or changing skies. The songs evoke the movements of time, with red kites above suburban highways and the unsettling atmosphere of twilight. The lyrics, both vivid and elliptical, create a slightly eerie but never hostile ambiance. Founded by Kate Gibson and Matt Ashton, the band is joined by loyal collaborators, including the Iskra Strings quartet and several guest musicians. Their fourth studio album stands out as their most accomplished and moving work, accurately capturing the energy of their live performances.