Band of the Week: The Lonely Forest

There are a handful of people in the music industry whom I trust unconditionally; Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie is one of those people. Having exposed Telekinesis in the past, Walla has formed a new label called Trans and The Lonely Forest are his very first signing band.

The Washington band will release their new LP, Arrows, early next year but a self titled EP will be available for purchase on Tuesday as the band embarks on a tour with Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Opening song “Turn Off This Song” self-effacingly challenges the ridiculousness of indie hipster musicians, their better-than-thou attitude and odd combinations of “vintage shirts and hundred dollar pants”. The simple buildup is reminiscent of the humble proportions of Clarity-era Jimmy Eat World. This music is wonderfully detached from what is currently musically stylish, instead it embraces a dizzying, Sigur Ros-type approach to guitar. “Let It Go” finds common ground with the ethereal prog-rock nuances of Minus the Bear while the piano progressions on songs like “I Don't Want to Live There”, are unapologetic and self-indulgent in the way only songwriters like Jeff Buckley ever dared to be. The Lonely Forest even lament being too young, just like Buckley once did.

“I Don't Want to Live There”, which extols Northwestern “miles of tall evergreens/the smell of the ocean and cool mountain breeze”, does so via audaciously cheeky criticism of Los Angeles. But, knowing how unaffected the hipsters of LA are, they will probably embrace it in an unparalleled fit of self deprecating irony.

The Lonely Forest - I Don't Want to Live There [mp3]

The Lonely Forest on MYSPACE

The Lonely Forest EP Track listing:

1. Turn Off This Song
2. Ramshackle House
3. Live There
4. Let It Go
5. Turn Off This Song (Acoustic)

Tour Dates:
w/Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s
Sept 17 – Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry
Sept 18 – Milwaukee, WI Mad Planet
Sept 19 – Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
Sept 21 – Ann Arbor, MI The Blind Pig
Sept 22 – Columbus, OH The Circus
Sept 23 – Newport, KY The Southgate House
Sept 24 – Akron, OH Musica
Sept 25 – Pittsburgh, PA Brillobox
Sept 26 – New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
Sept 27 – Cambridge, MA Middle East Downstairs
Sept 29 – Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
Sept 30 – Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
Oct 1 – Washington, DC Black Cat
Oct 2 – Asheville, NC Stella Blue
Oct 3 – Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
Oct 5 – Tallahassee, FL Club Downunder
Oct 6 – Gainesville, FL Common Grounds
Oct 7 – Orlando, FL Backbooth
Oct 8 – Tampa, FL Crowbar
Oct 9 – Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn
Oct 10 – Birmingham, AL The Bottletree
Oct 11 – Nashville, TN Exit/In
Oct 13 – St Louis, MO Firebird
Oct 14 – Bloomington, IN The Bishop

w/Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Nov 3 – Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry
Nov 4 – Ames, IA Maintenance Shop
Nov 5 – Lawrence, KS Jackpot Saloon
Nov 6 – Denver, CO Hi Dive
Nov 7 – Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
Nov 10 – Nampa, ID Flying M Coffee
Nov 11 – Seattle, WA Neumos
Nov 12 – Vancouver, BC The Biltmore Cabaret
Nov 13 – Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Nov 15 – San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
Nov 16 – Los Angeles, CA SpaceLAnd
Nov 19 – La Jolla, CA UCSD – The Loft
Nov 20 – Phoenix, AZ The Trunk Space
Nov 22 – Austin, TX The Mohawk
Nov 23 – Dallas, TX House of Blues – Pontiac Garage