Between The Trees-The Story And The Song (Emo-Rock) (5/5)

If there were ever a band i have had a constant affinity for, it would be Between The Trees. Despite my deep rooted hatred for emo-rock, this band speaks volumes to me, and always has done, with their passionate songs dealing with various subjects, unlike the trademark suicide theme made popular in the genre by bands such as My Chemical Romance. This band never made a real impact on the music scene commercially, but they made a huge impact on me as a person, and their music helped me through a rough time, as they have done many others, before quitting the music industry to continue their support for To Write Love On Her Arms in a more hands-on way. They left behind two albums, one of which is utterly beautiful front to back. This album was The Story and The Song.

Released in September 2006, The Story And The Song is an 11 track affair that clocks in at three quaters of an hour, and in that time it shows so much emotion that it is hard to take in with just one listen. Songs such as The Way She Feels and A Time For Yohe, dealing with an extremely depressed young girl named Renee Yohe have so much effort and time put into them that it really is something to marvel at. Unsurprisingly, these stand out as two of the highlights of the album.

The Forward is a great way to open up the album, giving a strong inclination to the sound of the album on the whole. This is an energetic opening track, with the trademark soaring vocals and nice guitar lines. This song is about the people who supported the band when they were first forming, and, despite being cheesy, the band pull it off perfectly. White Lines & Red Lights is a much slower but equally well written, fun song.

The Way She Feels is up next, and this is the bands most famous song, and easily their finest. This song deals with a self-harming, exceptionally depressed girl named Renee Yohe, whom To Write Love On Her Arms offered support to, and contains so much love in the lyrics that it remains one of my personal favourite songs ever written. This song is packed with emotion, and is such a powerful and moving song that it demands an instant press of the repeat button, and then once again.

Words, A Time For Yohe and You Cry A Tear To Start A River are the other three standouts of the album. Words is a big "screw you" to anybody that tries to down talk another person, whereas the latter two are extremely emotional songs. A Time For Yohe is undoubtably the most haunting song on the album, and will remain with the listener for a long time, being a truly special song. You Cry A Tear To Start A River is a thrilling way to close the album, being the longest song on the album, and ever second of the song being utterly engaging. The band could not have written a better closer.

Between The Trees real success, however, lies in the albums theme. The theme of this release is love, loving both yourself and the people around you in more than just a romantic way, which is so rare for an emo-rock album, and remains extremely powerful to this day. Every song on this album has such a positive message that the band need not rely on technicality to produce a masterpiece. Everything about the band is simplistic, from the guitar work, to the song structures, to the cheesy lyrics. However, these are not flaws, as they are there to convey the thoughts in the lyrics, which is the true focus of this release, and makes this quite possibly the most relevant, timeless record ever recorded. No album in my collection is more worthy of a 5 than this.