Subtle beauty comes in so many forms, and it’s the fine details that reflect the fragile essence of a sound, a string, or the lightness of being within a song. As if to hear the silence of the leaf falling in slow motion from a tree, solo artist and micronic music man Jimmy LaValle spotlights every note from the cello, every sob from the saw, and the chime of a bell to illustrate the makings of his latest LP, In A Safe Place.
Surrounding himself with people that serve both as friends and musicians (including members of Sigor Ros), LaValle had a wealth of talent as his fingertips in addition to his own; painting an aural picture that is as layered and cool blue as the painted artwork of the album’s cover. Having removed himself from the sunny shores of his hometown in San Diego to travel to Reykjavik, Iceland, recording and arranging in this foreign land may have brought about a new level of serenity. The motions are serene and aquatic, with flowing violins, guitars and piano that glide like a stingray over an electronic undercurrent of crunching, bubbling affects.
It’s easy to see that LaValle’s goal to someday score movie soundtracks is a viable and achievable one. His talent lies in the composition of both expansive soundscapes and solitary, delicate trickles of music, from a wide shot of the ocean’s waters all the way down to a drop of dew dripping from a leaf after a summer’s sunrise. Simply put, In A Safe Place is both a beautiful and exquisite.
