Dead Leaf Echo - "Truth" CD

This Brooklyn band's second full-length is a stylish and hazy daydream that harkens back to the classic days of 4AD or Creation Records. In fact, that may be somewhat intentional, as the band recorded this with noted producer John Fryer (Cocteau Twins, Love & Rockets, Xymox, Depeche Mode, etc.). Opening with the gauzy and soft "Half-Truth", the album spins a shoegazey web of moody guitars and passive, androgynous vocals. They lose me somewhat on the silly "Dance In The Light", with its rather redundant lyrics ("Dance In The Light Of Your Soul"? Come on now, folks...) that prove the band is aiming more for mood than poetic realism. The final track is a remix of "Act Of Truth" that goes for a retro-80's synthpop kinda vibe. That said, fans of classic swirl-mope-rock ala Cocteaus, Slowdive, or The Cure, Dead Leaf Echo should be more than pleased by Dead Leaf Echo's dreary and monochromatic goth-shoegazing. (2&1 Records)

Dead Leaf Echospace

Dead Leaf Echo - "Pale Fire" CDEP

Soft and pillowy shoegaze-pop from NYC, this 6-song release conjure visions of old UK 4AD act Lush, with shimmery guitars and moody (but male) vocals, especially on 'Thought Talk', which features similarly angelic female harmonies. Dead Leaf Echo create richly melodic veils of sparkly guitars and lethargic vocals that seem to convey both indifference and sorrow. Whether that's a good thing is up to your interpretation, but these folks create some sounds that definitely have few peers in today's musical climate.

A mix of their track 'Pale Fire' by electronica producer Ulrich Schnauss is easily the highlight here, and he shrouds the band in a dense, multi-layered mist of intense sound and holes them up in it - much more to my liking than the lighter, more pop-oriented indie breath the band seems to create on their own. And the climax here is breathtaking, as well. Wow! There are 200 copies of this one, so you may need to act fast. (Dead Leaf Echo)