Lost in the Trees Album Review

All Alone In An Empty House by Lost In The Trees

For those who follow the North Carolina music scene, the name, Lost in the Trees, is nothing new.  However, with the re-release of their first full length, "All Alone In An Empty House", on ANTI- records, the band is now getting the exposure that they truly deserve.  Having been a hidden gem of the Carolinas for years now, Lost in the Trees getting their re-release on ANTI- opens up the band to a much wider audience.  The band is currently on a string of shows in California and were scheduled to play a tour with Neko Case which was unfortunately cancelled.

This re-release of "All Alone In An Empty House" is much more than just a simple re-issue.  The original songs have been much more fleshed out and extended, while two new songs were also added to the mix.  With two years of touring since the original release came out on Trekky Records, the band has had much time to fully develop the songs with their live performances and give them an even larger feel than before.  Ari Picker's therapeutic voice and finger picking on his twelve string guitar open the album with the title track, "All Alone In An Empty House".  Once the strings come in one can get the true feel of  Lost in the Trees with the orchestra building the song into something much larger than one could have anticipated.  Ari's voice has a way of cutting straight through to your heart and allowing you to feel exactly what he meant to convey with these songs.

Songs like "Walk Around The Lake", "Song For The Painter", and "Fireplace" make sure that you don't walk away from this album without having at least a few lines stuck in your head for days to come.  However the catchiness of these songs doesn't mean there is a lack of substance to them, with lyrics such as "I'd do anything to cry, let this pain fall from my eyes and let time heal my insides" and "if I can't heal my heart then forgive me" provide for such a raw experience that not only do you find yourself wrapped up inside of these lyrics and stories that Ari fleshes out, but you also find yourself relating to most of the truly heartbreaking lines.  One of the great aspects of Lost in the Trees though is how the focus is placed equally on the depth of Ari's songwriting and the larger than life sound produced by the rest of the band members.  Ari and the band truly weaved together a masterpiece with this album and this re-release has given all of the songs a much larger feel to them, especially "Mvt. 1 Sketch" and "Mvt. 2 Sketch", the two instrumental songs on the album.

Whether Lost in the Trees is a new name to you or if you're familiar with the band and already own the album, this ANTI- re-release is definitely worth picking up.  With the two new songs and the re-workings of all of the old ones, this album comes together perfectly and is sure to give the band the popularity boost that it deserves.  Don't be surprised if you start seeing Lost in the Trees popping up all over the scene, because the unique orchestral-folk blend that they've put together is something truly special that needs to be heard by all.  Plain and simple, Lost in the Trees is something that you need to hear.

written by Grant Golden