[Hypeworthy] We Are Trees’ Boyfriend EP

A funny thing happened today: YVYNYL, my favorite music tumblr, wrote about a new band called We Are Trees, describing how similar the lead singer’s voice is to that of Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen. Needless to say the music is incredible, I’ll get to that in a second, but when I began to write the post I stumbled upon an email sent a few days ago from a dude named James asking us to give his new band, We Are Trees, a chance. It’s funny how that works. As fate would have it, I’m obsessed with their debut EP Boyfriend… here’s why:

[MP3] We Are Trees – Sunrise Sunset

Finally, a new band that values a little thing called fidelity. It’s something many new bands don’t really give two shits about anymore, probably because it’s easier not to and because there’s a certain amount of subcultural caché linked to the lo-fi sound. We Are Trees forcefully neglect that and deliver a production value so pristine that you can literally hear the horse hairs fraying on the violinist’s bow.

“Sunrise Sunset” is the EP’s opening track, a stunning introduction to a genuinely gifted band. There are ebullient vocal chants, weightless cymbal shimmers, drumsticks that attack the metal snare rims like hailstones on a tin roof. All the while, James Richard Nee sings out with an enchanting vocal quality that seems to touch on Jeff Buckley’s range while, yes, sounding very similar to Daniel Rossen. The song rises and falls, builds up a tower of noise and then pulls the rug out from underneath it. It’s a spastic, chaotic, beautiful mess of a song.

You can download the Boyfriend EP here.