Listen: Lost in the Trees – “Song For the Painter”

All Alone in an Empty House is the new EP by Lost in the Trees, North Carolina indie rock dynamo Ari Picker’s new band.  The record is said to be the product of a series of Picker’s personal family tragedies.  A somber cello that flows through the majority of the eleven song EP immediately instills in the listener a sense of grief.  Picker’s strong, yet emotive voice sounds like combination of a less brittle Connor Oberst and Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch. The vocals instill in the listener a sense of pain tragedy, but this is a complex record and there’s a lot more here.

One of the most striking things about All Alone in an Empty House is the vast array of sonic ground covered on the record.  All of the songs on this EP fall under the expansive umbrella of indie rock, however, almost every song has a completely different theme and feel to it, like a painter exploring a different approach with each canvas.  Herein is what makes this record a must listen.  All Alone in an Empty House almost feels like a “Best of the Indie Aughts” compilation.  Upon listening to this record one could think it a collection of different artists if not for Picker’s voice, acting as a constant.  The lyrics, like the rest of the record are somber without broaching on maudlin.

Once again, Anti Records has managed to put out a record that feels a culling of a genre.  All Alone in an Empty House sounds like an indie rock all star game, drawing from so many unique aspects of the bands which have most defined the indie genre.  It’s a record that encapsulates the past ten years and therefore well worth the half hour or so it takes to listen to.

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Jeff Mangum, this generation’s brilliant but elusive musician, performed an extremely rare live set, comprised mainly of songs from his iconic 1998 album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

The album, featuring songs inspired by the life and death of Anne Frank, is normally listed at the top of many “greatest ever” lists, and has been performed only a handful of times in the last decade.

Whether or not Mangum will be playing any other shows in the future is unknown.

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