Five Mile Sniper: The Sound Of Trees

Reading the back story to Five Mile Sniper’s new album and it’s hard to know what to think, “The Sound Of Trees is a euphemism for the decaying natural world we’ve inherited that has no voice – a cry for help that cannot be heard. It conveys moments of optimism with an undertone of loss.” It could go one of two ways; luckily it took the better option.
As ‘Evolve’ begins it has that real atmospheric quality, and you begin to understand how optimism can be tinged with a sense of loss. Singer John Baxter is the main carrier of the emotional changes of the music, and it’s all done through his just-enough voice.
‘Fade Away’ stands as a favourite, it had me at the old school rock-esque intro. There’s something about ‘Imitation’ that seems so familiar, most likely because it follows a formula similar to successful songs before, but it works and makes it one of the stand outs on the album.
The only downside from The Sound of Trees is that at times the lyrics feel a little too much like a diary entry, they simply tell you too much without showing you through a more creative use of writing. But in saying that, the combination of instrumental and vocals carries the album and masks any of the more ‘corny’ phrases. Overall the album definitely achieves what it set out for, the slight tinge of joy in Baxter’s voice and the occasional use of piano help to lift the album up, though there’s something holding it back from being worthy of any sort of ‘Top 10’ list.
Out now via Capital Kills Records
By Amanda Sherring