Album Review: The 2 Leaves Project ‘Every Ocean Tells A Story’

(photo credit: abc.net.au)

The 2 Leaves Project, a collaboration between Celia Pavey (Vera Blue) and Nick Littlemore (Empire Of The Sun/Pnau), have released their debut album ‘Every Ocean Tells A Story’.

‘Every Ocean Tells A Story’ is comprised of 10 alt-folk tracks that blend Pavey’s powerfully graceful vocals with Littlemore’s futuristic production style to create distinctively spacey sonic atmospheres. In true alternative fashion, all of the tracks from the debut release are named after tropical regions in Peru, Portugal, and Brazil.

The opening track of ‘Every Ocean Tells A Story’, Ene, clearly shows The 2 Leaves Project is a unique sound that cannot be placed into one distinct genre. This slow paced track is an unapologetic blend of folky vocals, electronica synths, deep bass, and acoustic guitar.

Ene sets a serene atmosphere and unnoticeably blends into the second track of the album Napo, so much so that before you realise you have been relaxing for more than 8 minutes to the hypnotic sounds of The 2 Leaves Project.

The pace and atmosphere of the album mildly lift with the third track, Iriri. This track simply serves to lead into one of the standout tracks off the album, Para. As the album’s lead single, Para is unsurprisingly the most energetic and pop-inspired track on the album. With particularly delicate vocals backed by ethereal electronica and bells, Pavey sounds like a woodland fairy telling a story of love.

Another highlight of the album is Ucayali, a fast-paced track with a subtle jazz feel. The track shifts the atmosphere of the album with plinking keys and loving lyrics, “One billion stones underneath my feet locked/ Within each are the stories of the sea”.

Besides from these two tracks, the rest of the album lacks distinction and blends into one another, which could be either enchanting or boring depending upon your mood…

‘Every Ocean Tells A Story’ is the first release from Littlemore’s new independent record label.

“[I want] to do something different and something freer and not so commercially driven… it’s more about the beauty of music,” said Littlemore.

Overall, the debut release from The 2 Leaves Project provides a unique take on folk electronica and showcases the impressive vocal ability of Pavey/Vera Blue. However, the tracks for the most part are simply too repetitive to be a “go-to” album, which may leave you wanting to only listen to The 2 Leaves Project in the company of a particular leaf…