Jimmy LaValle has performed in several local bands, including Swing Kids, the Locust, GoGoGo Airheart, and the post-rock instrumental band Tristeza. As the sole full-time member of the Album Leaf (the name comes from a Chopin piece), he’s been releasing records since 1999’s mellow Orchestrated Rise to Fall. His songs have been heard on the soundtracks to episodes of The OC, as well as various other programs on CBS, NBC, and Showtime. He worked on the soundtrack for the 2019 film 3022<.em> starring Omar Epps.
PacificUV's song “Russians” was remixed in early 2013 by the Album Leaf and made available online. Around the same time, LaValle collaborated with singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) to release Perils From the Sea. It features LaValle trading the orchestral, layered textures of the Album Leaf’s work for ambient beats more akin to Jimmy Tamborello’s sucrose backbone of the Postal Service while melancholic storyteller Kozelek delivers unassuming recollections that feel like an account from an old friend.