Music Review - Taking Leave

I will be reviewing the album Taking Leave, a collaboration from youtubers Alan Lastufka and Tom Milsom. Taking Leave was released by DFTBA records in 2009.

Taking Leave is a six track EP of music written by Lastufka and preformed mainly by Milsom with appearances by John Green of Vlogbrothers and wrock artist Kristina Horner.

The album starts with "Just a Boy". The music and lyrics work together to pass along the story of a boy growing up and going through life. It starts out with what might be a glockenspiel, reminicient of a children's xylophone, as the song progresses other instruments begin to take precident. The character begins as a young child, living in his imagination, gradually gettin older and ending up as an old man.

Next up is "The Wind". The lyrics play out a story of a girl who is caught up in her feelings for a boy, using the metaphor of the wind to describe her emotions.

Following this we have "Can't". For those of you who don't already know, the strange clicking is made by a computer printer. The story in Can't is a relationship where the guy is blinded by his love to the girl's pushy and maybe even manipulative characteristics

Fourth is a duet with Kristina Horner, "The Mirror Song" is a slower song mainly played on piano. A retrospective song looking back on how happy they once were, comparing it to a fairytale. The one thing I don't like about the song is how Milsom's and Horner's voices sound slightly off in some parts.

Next we have John Green reciting a Bible verse (Job 5:1-7). Green's voice echoes, giving the impression of a church, joined in with the organ. The last line gives the track its name of "The Sparks Fly Upward". The final note provides a transition to the next song called "Forgiven", which continues the religous themes. The character goes to a church, lighting a candle and kneeling and praying for forgiveness.

This album is awesome, especially when you consider the fact that the contributing artists all live in different area of the US and UK. I would reccomend this CD to those who are looking for something different. To hear the album for yourself you can click
here. I also posted the music video for Can't below (I hope Alan doesn't have a problem with this).