I'm A Lover Not A Fighter But I'm Battling A Heavy Heart

Between the Trees

PWNZ Like: Anthony Green, Ivory, Phantom Planet, the Downtown Fiction

            Between the Trees is a piano-pop band out of Orlando, Florida. The band broke out with their unique sound, displayed on their first album, The Story and the Song. Now, entering the music scene with the release of 2009's Spain, the band has overcome drastic lineup changes with only three members in comparison to their original five.

            Spain is a beautiful and colorful album packed with earnest love songs and piano ballads. Released just this past August, Spain has been an album I can't stop listening to.

            Vocalist Ryan Kirkland's voice is admirable and amazingly wide-ranged. The title track, "Spain," is a song about running away to Spain and escaping life's problems, where Kirkland sings that "the rest of the world can wait." It opens with a dazzling piano intro, which would make Andrew McMahon of Jack's Mannequin proud. Kirkland sings his songs with a genuine sincerity, his voice guiding the music.

            The band continue with their Jack's Mannequin piano-driven sound on "Miss You," where Kirkland yearns about someone he loves from the point of view of a hopeless romantic. It's sung with such passion, it inevitably tugs at your heartstrings almost as bad as Ivory's "Coast of Maine."

            Between the Trees has a very Cinematic Sunrise-esque theatrical feel to it. Their emotions are always clearly portrayed in their music, the love and longing displayed exquisitely and consistently throughout the album.

            Despite their posh appearance and piano-pop stereotype, Between the Trees are surprisingly loud; their hypnotizing guitar riffs and dominating drums are well-formed. Kirkland's voice is unique in his genre, oozing energy like Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald.

            Between the Trees is a band that will take your breath away. Despite being a young band, their lyrics are mature and their music epic, with an original sound you're sure not to forget.