And Also the Trees

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And Also the Trees
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And Also the Trees live in Dortmund, Germany in 1998
Background information
Origin Inkberrow, Worcestershire, England
Genres Post-punk, gothic rock
Years active 1979–present
Associated acts The Cure
Members Justin Jones
Simon Huw Jones
Steven Burrows
Paul Hill
Emer Brizzolara
Past members Graham Havas
Nick Havas
Ian Jenkins

And Also the Trees are an English post-punk band, formed in 1979 in Inkberrow, Worcestershire. They are notable for their poetic lyrics and evocative music which are strongly influenced by the native English countryside.[1]

History

And Also the Trees formed in 1979[1] in Inkberrow,[citation needed] a small village in Worcestershire. A home demo tape was sent to The Cure, who were looking for support bands on their tour,[2] leading to a friendship between the two bands. In 1981, And Also the Trees played several shows in support of The Cure's UK tour.[2] Their second demo tape, From Under the Hill (1982), was partly co-produced by Robert Smith and Mike Hedges.[citation needed]

In 1983, the band released their first single, "Shantell", which was produced by The Cure's Lol Tolhurst. Their second single, "The Secret Sea", followed in 1984 and was also produced by Tolhurst. Tolhurst also produced their debut studio album, And Also the Trees, which was released in February 1984. The band received the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and were invited to do a session in April 1984, which was produced by Dale Griffin for broadcast on 24 April.

The EP A Room Lives in Lucy (1985) introduced the mandolin-like guitar sound which became their trademark for the next few years. The next album Virus Meadow (1986), was followed by their first European tour, from which came the live album The Evening of the 24th (1987). Another EP, The Critical Distance, was released in 1987. The singles "Shaletown" and "The House of the Heart", and the next album The Millpond Years (1988,) were produced by Mark Tibenham.

Farewell to the Shade (1989) was followed by the single releases of "Lady D'Arbanville" (a completely revised Cat Stevens cover) and the French-only release "Misfortunes".

In 1990, they changed their management. The band toured America during the following year, and reactivated contact with The Cure, which resulted in the USA-only release of the EP The Pear Tree featuring a remix by Robert Smith and Mark Saunders.

In 1992, the band released their last album produced by Tibenham, Green Is the Sea. They promoted it with a two-leg European tour including Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and France. Fan pressure resulted in a digital remastering of their singles and EPs, and the release of From Horizon to Horizon, a CD collection of primarily single and non-album tracks between 1983–1992.

By 1993, their sixth studio album The Klaxon was issued, and the following year the band toured, which resulted in the release of the live album Le Bataclan and a tour video from the concert in Hamburg.

In 1995, Justin Jones and Tibenham, along with Antonia Reiner, collaborate on a project called G. O. L., which resulted in the release of the album Sensations of Tone and the single "Soma Holiday". The album featured a cover version of the early And Also The Trees song "There Were No Bounds".

The band's seventh studio album, Angelfish (1996), created a British perception of "Americana".

File:And Also the Trees-LiveInDortmund1998.jpg
And Also the Trees live in Dortmund, Germany in 1998

Their eighth studio album, Silver Soul (1998), was also the band's first release on their own record label. The band released an EP, Nailed, the same year as well as a video compilation.

After a five year break, And Also the Trees released Further from the Truth (2003), recorded in the Worcestershire countryside and co-produced with Matthew Devenish.

In 2004 and 2005, And Also the Trees played a few shows at music festivals such as the Paleo Festival and Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Germany. They celebrated their 25th anniversary with the Best of 1980–2005 compilation album.

Live in Geneva (2006) showed the band in action on their Further from the Truth tour, as well as some video and film projects. The same year saw the band's singer Simon Jones releasing his collaboration project with Bernard Trontin of The Young Gods, called November.

Their 10th album, (Listen For) The Rag and Bone Man, was issued in November 2007, with a new member, Ian Jenkins, on double bass. The accompanying photographs were taken by French photographer Jérôme Sevrette. In June 2009, the band released When the Rains Come, containing acoustic versions of previously released songs and one new track. This was followed by another acoustic album, titled Driftwood.

In the summer of 2011, the band worked on new material in Herefordshire and France. Later that year Justin Jones provided guest guitar on the Othon Mataragas album Impermanence (with Marc Almond on vocals), followed by an intimate concert at Chelsea Theatre to launch the album. The album also featured Tomasini, Laura Moody and Camille O'Sullivan.

The band's 12th studio album, Hunter Not the Hunted, was released in March 2012.

The band is currently working on a new album, with a tentative release date of February/March 2016.

Musical style

And Also the Trees have been described as a gothic rock group.[3] The band's aesthetic sensibility has also been related to British Romanticism and melancholy in poetry and the arts.[4]

Band members

Current lineup
  • Simon Huw Jones – vocals (1979–present)
  • Justin Jones – guitar (1979–present)
  • Emer Brizzolara – keyboards (2007–present)
  • Steven Burrows – bass guitar (1983–present)
  • Paul Hill – drums (1997–present)
Past members
  • Graham Havas – bass guitar (1979-1983)
  • Nick Havas – drums (1979-1997)
  • Ian Jenkins – bass guitar, double bass (2004–2015)

Discography

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Studio albums
EPs
  • The Secret Sea (1984)
  • A Room Lives in Lucy (1985)
  • The Critical Distance (1987)
  • Shaletown (1987)
  • The House of the Heart (1988)
  • Lady D'Arbanville (1989)
  • The Pear Tree (1989)
  • Nailed (1998)
  • And Also the Trees (2009)
Live albums
  • The Evening of the 24th (1987)
  • Le bataclan (1994)
  • Prémonition hors série (1991; EP)
Compilation albums
  • A Retrospective 1983–1986 (1986)
  • Et aussi les arbres (1987)
  • Boxed Set (1990)
  • From Horizon to Horizon (Singles 1983–92) (1993)
  • 1980–2005 (2005)
Demo albums
  • First demo cassette (1980)
  • From Under the Hill (1982)
Video albums
  • Bielefeld PC69 May 1st 1992 (1994)
  • Live 89-98 (1998)
  • Live in Geneva (2006)
Singles
  • "Shantell"/"Wallpaper Dying" (1983)
  • "The Secret Sea"/"Secrecy" (1984)
  • "Shaletown"/"Needle Street" (1987)
  • "The House of the Heart"/"This Ship in Trouble (Instrumental)" (1988)
  • "Lady D'Arbanville"/"The Street Organ" (1989)
  • "Misfortunes"/"Belief in the Rose (Instrumental)" (1989)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ "Melody and Melancholy" by Eugene Thacker, Mute, 25 August 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2015.

External links

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