A delicate collection of songs for meditation on spiritual struggle, The Leaves Fall is a window into the parallel reality of Justin Carter. Centered on his intimate vocals, pointed with hints of Arthur Russell and John Martyn; the eight tracks are buttressed by warm acoustic guitars, vibraphones, organs and flourished with modern production. They are familiar but distant, like ghosts living in the present. Carter grew up in a country house in rural North Carolina, a place with a pecan tree and abandoned train tracks in the front yard. On long car rides from home to his dad's work as a school teacher, his ears were filled with the prog of Yes, the vocals of Al Jarreau and the complexity of Christopher Parkening's take on Bach. It was his father, who himself has moonlighted as a guitar player and songwriter for nearly 50 years, that taught Carter to sing and play in his early teens.