Leif Vollebekk "New Ways (Secret City)"
New Ways, the new album from Leif Vollebekk, is a meticulous, sparse, stunner of a soul-esque album. I cannot think of a recent example of better use of silence on an album than this. Now, I’m not talking John Cage silence here, I just mean that everything sure has room to breathe, and breathe it does. As the PR mentions (quite correctly) there are parallels of sound to be heard here to both Prince and Bill Withers. Frankly, if those two names don’t want to get you to check out an album then I don’t know what sorts of things you are looking for. Check out the first single from the album “Hot Tears” and dig all that space!