Review: Leaving Richmond – Visions

For the past decade Jordan Pier has been composing electronic based, instrumental music under the moniker Leaving Richmond. From his Los Angeles base, Pier has nurtured and developed his own mid and downtempo sound. Mixing organic and electronic sounds to create atmospheres and musical environments that spark the imagination, often underlined with toe tapping rhythms.

“Visions” is Leaving Richmond’s eighth album. Consisting of ten exquisitely composed electronic tracks, the album is flooded with wistful and strangely soft, romantic melodies created by Pier’s delightfully layered guitar playing. Jordan Pier’s guitar style has a lush, warm sound. He manages to make the difficult sound deceptively simple and the simple, charming, atmospheric and picturesque.

“Visions” opens with the albums most beat driven song, “You Must Break Yourself” A mid tempo electronic track before falling into the cosy layered guitar melodies that merrily make up the bulk of the album. For this reviewer, this is when the album really comes to life. On the second song, “Memories From Another You” you get to hear the concept, creativity and individuality of Piers’ music. From the second song onwards the composing radiates and the production glows with a real luminous glow.

Songs like “Washing Over Us” and “Red Orange Light” are slices of reflective, luxuriant, joyous bliss. Whilst other songs like “Daydreams At The Cannery” and “The Soul Is Greater” pleasantly bounce along on catchy, electronic rhythms over which Pier’s weaves his melodies and hooks.

The album ends on the sublime “And Then We Begin Again.” A song crammed full of memorable hooks and doleful melodies blanketing an organic sounding beat.

Jordan Pier has created an interesting and intricate listening experience. “Visions” has beautiful, meditative moments and memorable melodies. The album manages to avoid the pitfalls of becoming overly melancholic or maudlin by sitting happily in the world of day dreaming. If you’re a fan of ambient music with a rhythm then “Visions” is definitely worth investing in, as is Leaving Richmond’s Bandcamp page.