I Love Finding New Music!

I'm in L-U-V. I have a gift card for a free music download from a compilation album of up-and-coming Christian artists. I finally went online today to see what songs I have to choose from. I browsed the list of songs and stopped on "Future of Forestry." I thought to myself, "Never heard of 'em! They're probably going to be mediocre at best." See back to sentence #1 in this paragraph.

I find few things in life more rewarding than discovering a new artist, or an artist who is new to me at least. That especially pertains to bands that I think are different from the norm and present something that is like a breath of fresh air. I get giddy at the idea of sharing my new treasure with friends and fellow music-lovers. So, I decided, "I must blog about Future of Forestry!" If you've known about FoF and you're saying, "Uh, hello Abby! I've been a fan of them for a long time. Where have you been?" then shame on you for holding out on me!

I searched for Future of Forestry on iTunes and after listening to a few songs, I downloaded their entire album, Twilight. No, it has nothing to do with the movie about vampires. It came out in 2007 and they just released their EP Travel this past May (I had to come edit this blog to add that I ended up downloading Travel as well). The band is from San Diego and was formerly called, "Something Like Silas." In case you're like me and wondering where the name, "Future of Forestry" comes from, it’s the title of an obscure C.S. Lewis poem about an England overtaken by industrialization. Pretty heavy, huh? The band sees the words of the poem as more than just an environmental warning though. Lead singer, Eric Owyound said, "It's not about saving trees but about saving our lives from being taken over by technology. It's about asking if we are still able to see beauty."

I would describe FoF's sound as a mix of Mutemath, Jimmy Eat World, U2, Jars of Clay (who they are opening for next week) and something else I can't quite put my finger on. Some songs are definitely rock while others are more melodic and deep. It's a little dark, but I like that. No matter how you slice it, it's good music. Check out their songs on iTunes or click here for their MySpace music page and enjoy! Make sure that when you tell your friends about FoF you say, "I found out about these guys from Abby!" And quit holding out on me!

- Abby