Dead Trees
(Milan)
Portland (Oregon) band the Dead Trees are actually Boston ex-pats, who are running a better streak in 2008 than most of us can claim. Following the acclaimed 6-song EP, Fort Music ,this Spring, an invite to record at Daytrotter and supporting admirers like Albert Hammond Jr. on tour, they're on a roll leading into King of Rosa, their first full-length album.
Their indie sound is tinged with Americana, folk and garage nuances. I'd like to think that if intergalactic musicologists visited Earth to collect music and were having our different rock genres explained to them, that the Dead Trees would be held up as one sterling example of what's good about indie rock in 2008. There's something magnificent in the simplicity of their songs, which catch you up in the first listening, the group additionally excelling in the diversity of their musical styles and tempos.
With "My Friend Joan, She Never Asks," for example, a blindfold test might fool one into thinking it was the Minus 5. "Killer In Me" recalls the fractious folk-rock of Southeast Engine. Halfway through the album there's a lush, complex short instrumental break called "Instrumental." "Loretta" sounds like a lost Lyres stomper, while "New England Skies" features a closely miked acoustic guitar reminiscent of he Beatles "Blackbird." It's rather sobering how effortlessly they seem to throw out these tasty tunes, without a boner in the bunch.
Standout Tracks: "OK Standby," "Shelter" BARRY ST. VITUS
