These guys seemed to have slipped through the cracks for me, but I’ve found Lost In The Trees, I’ve heard the story behind their new LP, and I knew they were right up my alley. “New LP” may be a bit of a misnomer. All Alone In An Empty House is a beefed up re-release of their debut album. Re-doing your own album – totally ballsy. To sit back, look at an old album, and admit to yourself that you can make it better, shows a band who wants to give everything they have to their fans. Ari Picker (what a name!) is the front man of this 6-piece symphonic-folk-pop group hailing from Chapel Hill, NC. He’s classically trained and it shows, but just enough that Lost In The Trees still feels like that raw folky rock band that we all love.

Lost in the Trees – Fireplace
Lost in the Trees – Walk Around The Lake

I listen to the balance of beautiful string sections (which reek of his classically-trained side) that are followed up with music-theory-breaking twangy guitar lines and it just seems to work so well. Listening to Picker un-learning and breaking his own rules is a treat, and something that shows how damn good he is. The album shows off a little bit of everything they do…fun little guitar riffs, beautiful harmonies, and entire songs that are string instrumentals.

But as excited and happy I am to talk about these guys, don’t forget for a second that this album is full of loneliness, sad times, and heartbreak. Isn’t that the case for so many great albums and songs before it? There’s nothing like letting emotion run wild, turning it into a song, and smacking the world with it.

Like what you hear? Pick it up at Insound.

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