New album review and music feature: Lost in the Trees

I’ve been neglecting this blog for too long … going to try to play catch-up over the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, there have been a couple of records released this year that pretty much made my head explode. Lost in the Trees’ All Alone in an Empty House is one of them. They’re an orchestral folk band with a classical slant, and the music is big, emotional, sad, haunting, and hopeful. The record was originally released in 2008, but most of it was rerecorded and a couple of songs were added for this version, which is out now on ANTI- Records. Hopefully these pieces will give you some idea, but this band really is phenomenal.

Interview with Ari Picker of Lost in the Trees on eMusic

my eMusic review of Lost in the Trees’ All Alone in an Empty House:

Lost in the Trees’ All Alone in an Empty House begins with a grim tale of fighting parents, dying infants, isolation, depression and abuse. Its opener, the title track, starts with a delicately fingerpicked acoustic guitar line over the sound of creaking floors but, verse by verse, it builds, adding strings, horns and backing vocals as frontman/composer Ari Picker’s voice gets stronger and more intense. When the storm dies down, Picker sings softly, “I know no one is perfect/ We’ve got a hole in our heart/ No one is perfect.” It’s a powerful beginning, and while Picker’s story — much of which is true — doesn’t end in complete resolution, Empty House proves to be more about hope than pain.

In “Walk Around The Lake,” Picker professes, “Late at night I’ll stay up and write a book about my life/ So no one would ever make all of my mistakes.” The song incorporates a dramatic and spooky string waltz, acoustic fingerpicking and soaring violin lines, and then a powerful blues guitar line cuts in to create one of the record’s most exhilarating moments.

The musical and emotional turning point comes in “Fireplace,” wherein everyone shouts together, “And with a burned soul/ Healing is painful/ Asked to forgive when you’re still angry/ If I can’t heal my heart, forgive me,” and later, “So surround yourself with good people/ I know it’s painful but we can stand/ And if this man can’t walk/ Lend him a hand.” The song is upbeat, with a hard-driving electric guitar line over Picker’s acoustic and it sets the emotional tone for songs like “Love On My Side,” “Wooden Walls of this Forest Church” and the Neutral Milk Hotel-channeling “A Room Where Your Paintings Hang.”

Though Empty House was first released through Trekky Records in 2008, all of the vocals and most of the instrumentals were rerecorded and two songs have been added for ANTI-’s edition, which was produced by Scott Solter (St. Vincent, Spoon). There’s more confidence, control and articulation in Picker’s voice, and the arrangements are tighter and more fluid. Where some indie rock or folk artists use strings and horns as accessories, the classical, symphonic elements here, along with Picker’s acoustic guitar, provide the foundation for nearly all of Lost in the Trees’ songs. Empty House also has two guitar-less instrumental suites, near the beginning and end of the record. After the second, the set concludes with the optimistic “For Leah & Chloe,” in which Picker sings, “Pain’s made me who I am/ But I don’t want your pity please/ I’ve learned more than I could share/ I healed my heart on a walk in the dark.” While Picker’s story is bleak, Empty House has enough heart and emotional power to help others heal too.

Lost in the Trees’ MySpace