REVIEW: Future Of Forestry - Twilight

5 / 5 stars

About 6 months ago ago I was in some christian book store with my wife (then fiance) and decided I wanted to find some new christian band to listen to.  I really enjoyed the album artwork on Future Of Forestry’s Twilight (which was actually released January 23, 2007) and on a whim picked it up. Boy, did I score big.

Somehow these guys just have not gotten enough press because I had never heard of them before and have still not heard anything about them since picking up Twilight. It is truly a crime that they haven’t gotten any publicity because this album is fantastic! Future Of Forestry has a very diverse but unique sound that really needs to be heard by the world. There are splashes of U2 and Switchfoot but with some of the more emotion-evoking mood-driven sound that you would expect from indie rockers like Snow Patrol or Death Cab For Cutie. Future of Forestry even has a taste of (the amazing) Sigur Ros in the way they paint their songs with an almost film score-esque ambient undertone.

I couldn’t recommend an album much higher than this so if you get a chance, go pick it up (or buy it on iTunes — Twilight is available as a DRM-free “iTunes Plus” purchase).

01 Open Wide

4 / 5 stars
Great opening track, with soaring vocals and guitars that lead a great melody. Fans of Switchfoot will enjoy this track and is one of the more traditional-style tracks of the album.

02 All I Want

5 / 5 stars
Heck yeah… here is where FoF starts to stand out. They do a great job of evoking mood through their music and this song is a great example of such. I absolutely love the guitars in the verse that are almost seemingly random string plucks (harmonics?) that really give that eerie feeling of mystery. Not to mention the lyrics which are that of a worship song that I would love the worship team at my church to do sometime. This song rocks.

03 Twilight

4 / 5 stars
As this melodious laid-back groove plays you begin to realize how special the Twilight album truly is. Three tracks into the album and you’ve gotten three very different styles of music, all done very well and amazingly with enough of a sound to unite them — keeping the band from feeling like a jack of all trades/master of none. Future Of Forestry certainly knows who they are as a band, identifies what their sound is, and is fully aware of their ability to very their style skillfully. Also, the super simple drum track in this song is fantastic — I find myself drumming the unique pattern on my steering wheel whenever cruising to this song.

04 Speak To Me Gently

5 / 5 stars
My favorite song on the album — beautiful. This song amazes me with how absolutely simple it is, and how it just tugs on the emotion and gently demands to be heard. I love the high harmonies in the second verse, not overdone but just enough to let the song progress. The lyrics are so simple yet so beautiful, this song just masters beauty in simplicity.

I’m searching the stars, in desperate hours, bound to find meaning

God shows a face, in this desolate place, and tenderness meets me

05 Thinking Of You

3 / 5 stars
This tracks reminds me a bit of Snow Patrol, though I don’t think they quite hit it as well as I would’ve liked. A good track but lacking the emotion and mood evoked from previous tracks.

06 Sunrising

5 / 5 stars
These guys are amazing! I still can’t believe I’ve never seen them mentioned anywhere and got them in a random “this album cover looks cool” purchase. Here are some more of their signature soaring vocals and guitars with some really nice subtle piano played under the leading sounds. This song has an epic feeling that builds with such precision, it feels like it could make a great score. This might be my second favorite track on the album.

07 Sacred Place

4 / 5 stars
I love the sweeping sound of this song, it’s a great worship song that weaves between a joyful mood in praise and a softer more ominous and mysterious emotion. And the female background vocals are add a really cool touch.

08 You And I

3 / 5 stars
An okay song which is masked by an awful instrumental-riff/interlude thing which starts off the song and shows up once more to hurt the song. Other than that, this song is decent, though a disappointment when compared to the rest of the album. If it weren’t for the horrible whiny intro I probably wouldn’t skip this track whenever it came up.

09 Sanctitatis

5 / 5 stars
I can’t speak enough of the beauty this band has, and this song is more of a testament of that than any other. The lyrics are simply a few strings of latin which speak to the holiness of God and they are sung with pure passion on more soaring vocals. This is the sort of track you just close your eyes to and let the music just fill you. This song has, on several occasions, brought my wife and I to silence while driving as we try take it all in. Absolute Beauty.

Vere Sanctus es, Domine Fons omnis sanctitatis, Domine

10 If You Find Her

4 / 5 stars
A sweet simple acoustic song about a girl. The kind of song you would hear at an “open mic night” and be enamored with, super catchy and easy to hum along with.

11 Gazing

4 / 5 stars
Fantastic song, the most likely candidate for a future worship set at my church. If this band had gotten more acknowledgment, I would imagine this to be a single that would have gotten them far in the CCM market.

12 Stay Beside Me

3 / 5 stars
Though it is probably one of my least listened to tracks, Stay Beside Me is actually a good worship song that could also easily be worked into a Sunday morning worship set. I’ve neglected this song being at the end of the album and not super exciting, but I think I’m going to have to pay it some more attention as it truly is a great worship song.

13 Hidden Track

4 / 5 stars
A nice worship ballad to end the song. They excel in creating an the ethereal dreamy landscape once again overlayed with the haunting repeating lyric:

There is nothing like You, there is nothing else.