Lost in the Trees
Past Life
Reviewed by: Sebastian Mackay
This album is a cacophony of beautiful sound. The first few seconds are decidedly odd but as the album progresses and moves through the tracks it becomes part of the album. The vocals are soft and melodic and complemented by the instrumentation. At times, the music slightly over powers the vocal melody and at other times the situation is reversed. It shouldn’t sound as balanced as it does, but it works terrifically.
The imagery of these lyrics give the album a lot of its strength. They’re vivid, interesting, thoughtful, and it keeps the album entertaining until the end (not that the music doesn’t). Lost in the Trees is a band that knows their limits and their style. Past Life is the perfect compliment to the band’s abilities. They’ve played to their strengths and because of it they’ve produced a solid album of coherent tracks.
“Wake” is but one example of the perfect production and construction of these songs. Each element (and there are a lot of them) comes together meticulously and harmoniously. While the piano at the start of “Glass Harp” is positively exquisite.
Past Life is an album that needs to be listened to and appreciated. It belongs in the foreground, not the background.
Rating: Bad-Ass
