A classy and memorable balm for the soul.
Leif Vollebekk may not be a name that leaps off of the pages of recognition, but the Canadian singer/songwriter has been releasing albums since 2010. With an ever-growing fanbase his star really started to shine with 2017’s ‘Twin Solitude’ and his popularity can now be measured by the fact that his upcoming live tour swings throughout Europe and the UK before returning to the US.
For those unfamiliar with Vollebekk’s back catalogue, his new album, ‘Revelation,’ will be just that. Think Ryan Adams with more than a hint of Richmond Fontaine and add some lush orchestral layers into the mix and the result is an album that immediately grabs the attention. There are albums that get their claws into you from the very first bars. It is an otherworldly and unknowable something that reaches its mitts around the senses within seconds of the opening track; something that speaks of riches to come. The culprit here is ‘Rock and Roll’ with its thumping drum riff quickly overlain with gorgeous strings and piano. It is the sort of opening track to make the hairs on the back of the neck stand to attention.
How to follow that? ‘Southern Star’ may be a very different beast initially with its minimal piano accompaniment and slower tempo but, as on many of the slower numbers on the album, the constant that is Vollebekk’s vocals and the sheer quality of the artist’s songwriting skills infuse all tracks with the same excellence. Distinctive background harmonies here come from Anais Mitchell and Angie McMahon, adding yet another layer to the mix.
If the album dips in pace at times it never fails to engage and there are no missteps, no tracks to skip or kettles to go and boil. What it does contain though are tracks, like that opener, that make the seamless transition from very good to excellent. Pride of place goes to the eight minutes of ‘Sunset Boulevard Expedition’; the best of the best. What starts as a beautifully sung piece of melancholy with repeating piano riff morphs into more of that gorgeous, lush orchestral backing. The song thus takes on a dreamlike quality that, even after its duration, leaves the listener bereft at its parting.
The album is described as a meditation on living in an ever-changing present laced with existential doubt, the search for a higher power. Whatever the motivation, Vollebekk, who self-produced and played piano, guitar, bass, B3 organ, harmonica, accordion and Moog synthesizer on the album, has delivered a superb piece of work. ‘Revelation’ is an apt a title as any for an album that deserves a place on those end-of-year lists so beloved by, well, everyone.
