Lost In The Trees @ Le Divan Orange, June 13 2010

North Carolina musicians, Lost In The Trees, played their first Canadian show last night in Montreal’s Divan Orange. Feeling that nothing is like a band with orchestral music live, I was bound for their free show. Seven musicians, nearly all playing more than one instrument throughout the night, filled the stage. I was sold after their first two songs-an effect of having been left in complete awe that I have not felt since first seeing Montreal’s Sweet Mother Logic. Lost In The Trees plays music that envelops both classical and folk music. The orchestration of their music sounds as if it could have been written for a movie soundtrack, one with suspense, placed in medieval times.

Their instrumentation included two cellos, a violin, an accordion, a French horn, a xylophone, an Autoharp, an acoustic 12-string guitar, drums, a tuba, a bass, and an electric guitar. This instrumentation varies even more on their 2010 album “All Alone In An Empty House.” The crescendo’s that were featured in nearly every song enticed their audience, a full crowd at the Divan Orange. Lost In The Trees musicians were very grateful to their appreciating crowd, and began telling stories of their first day in Canada together as a band. They noted their experience of feeding a squirrel out of their hand earlier that day on the mountain. In addition to their remarkable tightness as a band, they are endearing. As the musician playing the 12-string guitar took the centre stage as the singer, fellow accordion/xylophone/drum/Autoharp/French horn musician accompanied him with vocals. The female voice echoing ‘oooh lalala’s’ behind the male’s gentle folk songs produced an unparalleled effect. I felt convinced that I was hearing her voice through the nave of a large and archaic stone church. With music like theirs and lyrics such as, “Sometimes all it takes is a walk around the lake,” Lost In The Trees creates feelings of suspense and tranquility alike.

I am ready to say that Lost In The Trees is quite possibly my favourite act I’ve seen all year. The crowd seemed to be in agreement. Heralding the most encores I’ve seen since Daniel Johnston’s October performance in Montreal, the Divan Orange listeners kept on clapping and cheering for more. I think there were four encores, but I sort of lost track. I got lost in the post-show acoustic serenading that was the encore. All the musicians climbed off the stage and into a space hollowed out by the audience to play a quiet song. The set-up changed with each new encore, the second pairing down to the 12-string guitar and xylophone. All the musicians returned for another song, where they had the Divan Orange crowd sing with them. Many spectators at first shy joined, a wave of voices filling the room. The final encore featured one musician with the 12-string guitar and another with the electric guitar. Together they performed a bluegrass song.

Lost In The Trees tickled the collective nervous system of their audience last night, giving us chills and beautiful CD’s for our ten dollars. It is an impossible task to sum up their majestic qualities, so do give them your listen:

Lost In The Trees on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lostinthetrees