New Music: The Lonely Forest - Nuclear Winter
By Justine-Marie
Are you an escapist?
Books, music, art in general; I know that I enjoy them because they take me other places, manipulate the way I feel and think, go somewhere else for a while. That moment when you’re so absorbed in a book that you forget you’re sitting on a couch in rainy Seattle? The emotional peak of your favorite album, where the instruments are so beautiful, the lyrics so perfect that your emotions are practically tuned by the artist?
The Lonely Forest’s latest release, finally a full-length piece, combines both experiences of music and story in an enchanting experience titled “Nuclear Winter.” Alot has been hyped the past few years over “concept albums,” mostly from the punk scene, but forget that. This album is truly a beautiful tale that will take you away like your favorite book and play your emotions like your favorite albums.
The Earth is Hell. Nuclear war breaks out, in the final destructive moment of human selfishness and sin. Faced with no other choice, humans must leave the planet, following a prophecy to find a new home in the constellation Cygnus. Instead of reaching Cygnus, though, the space ship runs to a black hole, and with no chance of escaping, the humans must fly straight into it and pray that “love will find a way.”
It might sound childish or simple, but this album is anything but. The music is the emotive piano rock we recognize from the Lonely Forest. Reprises and repeating themes combine forms from poetry and ballads with musical composition. The idea of home and belonging in compromised situations, from a bomb shelter on Earth (”Leader Holding His Eyes”) to a space ship that may never find land (”Cygnus”) returns with repeating melody throughout the album. “Hangman” as a single might be interpreted simply as a single, of loss and death of a child, but withing the album plays into the story of nuclear war and trauma.
Give this album a serious listen - I listened to it on an red-eye flight on an airplane, with nothing else to pay attention to but the stars outside my window. Listen to the lyrics and close your eyes - or check out the album art: it’s gorgeous. It’s a multifaceted experience of art and story that will leave you awestruck.
The Lonely Forest will be holding the CD Release party for “Nuclear Winter” at the Vera on August 4th.