We Are Trees

"We had the chance to stand on a corner with James and his guitarist Wesley and chat about bringin’ the fuckin ruckus, Cat Dog, magic 8-Balls, and life in the Big VA................." - What The Musk

For many, culture is deeply tied to personal history. Traditions are passed on from one generation to the next, from parent to child. In Abraham Vilchez Moran and Shomi Patwary’s video for “I Don’t Believe In Love,” an elegantly-dressed Indian woman dances in a dry field. This signature of her nationality is tied together with her past through photos found in her room. As We Are Trees plays in the background, cultural and personal history combine to define a major aspect of her identity. - Consequence of Sound - Cluster1

....."their vid for lead track 'I Don't Believe In Love" is as seductive as a summertime crush" - NME

Video Premier - MTV Hive

It was almost like love at first ‘play’ when I stumbled across this video of We Are Trees on a rooftop in Brooklyn performing “Sunrise Sunset” from their debut EP “Boyfriend“, directed by High/Low Film. - headnodz.fm

"We Are Trees is comprised of Virginia Beach native James Nee and his supporting band, who have taken the lo-fi scene by storm and flipped it upside down." - Altsounds.com

Virginia Beach’s We are Trees bring a whole new meaning to the word “beauty.” Their debut EP “Boyfriend” dips and swoops like a bird playing in the wind, scenery in motion. Moment by moment, each track builds, layer upon textured layer, until it erupts into visceral and aural ecstasy. Together it’s the welling of emotion, one long sigh, a disappearing breath on the window, a scar too subtle to see unless you squint just so. – Katie Buono

Here they are performing “Sunrise Sunset” on a Brooklyn Rooftop for High/Low Film. - Yourstru.ly

James Nee, hailing from the cultural mecca that is Virginia Beach, goes by the We Are Trees and is quickly making a name for himself. His debut EP Boyfriend features four heart-warming tracks, all of which brilliantly display Nee’s luminous vocals and enormous potential. The EP’s first track “Sunrise Sunset” is reminiscent of Grizzly Bear, and a perfect listen as the summer winds down. I highly recommend checking him out at this year’s CMJ. - All Things Go

Let’s meet our first set of The Cat’s Pajamas; We Are Trees.

To be quite honest with you, we know NOTHING about this guy/band, though we discovered a haunting song by them yesterday morning called “Dear Chan Marshall.” Hailing from Virginia Beach, singer/songwriter James Nee really has a knack for songwriting. Just releasing their first EP titled Boyfriend, which you can download for free at their Bandcamp. We suggest that you do because it is SUPER awesome. The band is still unsigned but we have a feeling that is all about to change. They fit in nicely with the new wave of bands coming in. Dreamy and brilliant, this is a must listen. - Modern Mystery Blog

Se ainda recordam com saudade a arrepiante expedição acústica de Veckatimest, o último registo dos irrepreensíveis Grizzly Bear, alegrem-se pois chegaram os We Are Trees.

É inevitável a comparação entre os vocais de James Nee e da folk-pop deste quarteto de Virginia Beach com os Grizzly Bear de Daniel Rossen. Contudo a qualidade da banda não se esgota nas evidências. Canções positivas deixam transparecer uma escrita e instrumentação de suavidade orgânica, combinando guitarras atmosféricas e percussão reluzente com a doçura do violino e do violoncelo envoltos numa fina camada de vibrações sonoras lo-fi e produção próxima da perfeição.

As quatro faixas do EP Boyfriend foram disponibilizas pela banda aqui. Todas as canções merecem ser deixadas derreter lentamente no céu da boca, mas Sunrise Sunset é um prazer em estado puro.
If you still remember fondly the chilling acoustic expedition of Veckatimest, the last album of the irreprehensible Grizzly Bear, rejoice because We Are Trees are here. It’s inevitable the comparison between James Nee vocals and this Virginia Beach folk-pop and Daniel Rossen’s Grizzly Bear. However the quality of the band doesn’t fade out in the obvious evidences. Positive songs let you see through a smoothly organic songwriting and instrumentation, combining atmospheric guitars and shimmering percussion with the sweetness of the violin and cello wrapped in a thin layer of lo-fi vibrations and a near perfection production. The band as given away their 4-tracks Boyfriend EP here. All songs deserve to be left to melt slowly on the palate, but Sunrise Sunset is a pleasure in its purest form. - Stereo Beat Box

We Are Trees is a Virgina Beach, Virginia 4-piece band that meticulously weave together beautiful acoustic, folk-pop melodies reminiscent of folks like Grizzly Bear and the Morning Benders. The project of songwriter James Nee, We Are Trees also features violinist Rocky Capizzi, cellist Pearl McReynolds and drummer Josiah Schlater. Their debut EP is titled Boyfriend, and it features four beautiful cuts built around lush, dramatic folk instrumentation founded on a bed of strings (cello and violin) alongside heavy tom drums and Nee’s dry, full vocals. It is a stunning debut that is sure to turn a lot of heads. It is available as a free download from We Are Trees’ bandcamp page, and the two tracks I didn’t feature here are every bit as good as the two you can sample below. This is one you do not want to miss! - Musical Pairings

I normally don’t post on a Sunday but in this case it had to go down. I got an email the other night from James Nee of Virginia Beach, who makes music under the name We Are Trees. He recently released this impressive 4-song EP which you can grab for free here. You’ll probably be reminded of Department of Eagles while listening, which I personally appreciated. I think you’ll enjoy it too. - Ears of The Beholder

Sunrise Sunset comes off the We Are Trees debut EP titled Boyfriend, available in full here. The arrangement dawns gently at the strum of a guitar. Vocals begin to shine in through a variety of crescendos all leading into the rush of day at 1:12. And just like that, the sun’s heat starts to descend at 4:02, at which point you’ll be kicking your feet up to catch your breath. - Kick Kick Snare

"So just as I say I’m getting sick of the lo-fi scene, I’m gonna go ahead and give you yet another lo-fi band for you to get into. This one called We Are Trees features songwriting from Virginia Beach native James Nee...." - Austin Town Hall

It's a big few weeks for us Starkians, but we wanted to highlight a few standout acts from this years CMJ festival. The first of which is We Are Trees . The PR states: "this Virginia Beach band's sound lies somewhere between the plains of Middle America and the cliffs of a Western Coast. The vocals, while drawing comparisons to Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear, are a mastery all their own, with sweeping "ohs" and cradling lyrics." All the songs we've heard stand up [...] - Elbo.ws

If Daniel Rossen was dead, We Are Trees would be his spirit, his living embodiment.

That’s not to say that We Are Trees is just a Grizzly bear rip-off, far from it. James Nee, the guy behind We Are Trees, may sound like “The Droste” but it’s not just his voice that encompasses We Are Trees, there’s the impressive musicianship, his intricate guitar playing, the beautiful lyrics, the production (the engineering on the EP was done by Mark Padgett, the bassist with Mae), all of which come together so well that pretty much within the the first minute of the first song it was evident I’d be smitten.

It’s all pretty special for a lad of only 19 from Virginia Beach. I’ve literally been listening to the four songs for an hour straight as I write this post and write back and forth with James in the early hours of a Sunday morning, it’s a grandiose and charming way to end a Saturday night.

The EP is called “Boyfriend” (speaking of which (Best Coast have a song called “Boyfriend) you can listen to his cover of Best Coast’s “When I’m With You” over at his MySpace page) and is his only proper release so far. At the moment he has no plans for a tour, unless you wanna shell out for it I’m sure he’d be glad to. The entire EP is available from his Bandcamp page for free, and he was kind enough to let me put the whole thing up here too, so you can listen to it below and grab it from him.

[UPDATE 09/20/10] – Since being featured on here (but not BECAUSE he was featured all up in hurr) he’s signed with Collective Crowd Records, a new record label based in Ohio who are releasing the below EP on 12? vinyl and limited to 300 copies (so get on that shit fast), and he’s also playing CMJ this year, so you better get on that shit too if you’re going.

Keep up to date with We Are Trees - Listen Before You Buy

The internets blessed me today with this beauty of a track from Virginia Beach. I almost swore this was Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear, Department of Eagles) singing. Stunning songwriting, great production. I love it.

Grab their 4-song Boyfriend EP free and look for it to come out on 12” vinyl with Collective Crowd Records soon! - YVINYL

We are three weeks away from the annual CMJ Music Marathon and I can already tell who is going to be this year’s breakout band without any hesitation.

That band is coming in from Cardiff to perform in front of the movers and shakers and tastemakers who will anoint him the next whatever. Last year it was Sleigh Bells and Surfer Blood, the year before Chairlift and Passion Pit, and so on and so on. There may wind up being a couple of breakouts from this year’s Marathon, there are a lot of under-known, up-and-coming acts coming through this year, but I guarantee We Are Trees will be among the most buzzed about.

Listening to their debut EP, the gorgeous Boyfriend, you hear everything you need to know about this band. They are desperate to make music sound as perfect as possible and have recorded this EP to make every note, every sound factor into the final product. It is anti lo-fi and it is gloriously so.

Already I’ve seen some of my esteemed bloggers picking up on the talents of We Are Trees and each one has noted how similar the band’s lead singer, James Richard Nee, sounds to Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen. It is an uncanny match and like Rossen in Grizzly Bear the vocal talents are surrounded by stunning symphonic pop arrangements. It’s truly beautiful music that any ear will pick up on in no time at all.

You can already download the band’s debut EP for the low low price of $4 right here. In November you’ll be able to buy it as a 12? piece of vinyl. And in October you will be able to see them live and in person at the CMJ Music Marathon! If you miss them you’ll have missed the first band you need to know for 2011. Believe it. - Pop Tarts Suck Toasted

A funny thing happened today: YVYNYL, my favorite music tumblr, wrote about a new band called We Are Trees, describing how similar the lead singer’s voice is to that of Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen. Needless to say the music is incredible, I’ll get to that in a second, but when I began to write the post I stumbled upon an email sent a few days ago from a dude named James asking us to give his new band, We Are Trees, a chance. It’s funny how that works. As fate would have it, I’m obsessed with their debut EP Boyfriend… here’s why:

[MP3] We Are Trees – Sunrise Sunset

Finally, a new band that values a little thing called fidelity. It’s something many new bands don’t really give two shits about anymore, probably because it’s easier not to and because there’s a certain amount of subcultural caché linked to the lo-fi sound. We Are Trees forcefully neglect that and deliver a production value so pristine that you can literally hear the horse hairs fraying on the violinist’s bow.

“Sunrise Sunset” is the EP’s opening track, a stunning introduction to a genuinely gifted band. There are ebullient vocal chants, weightless cymbal shimmers, drumsticks that attack the metal snare rims like hailstones on a tin roof. All the while, James Richard Nee sings out with an enchanting vocal quality that seems to touch on Jeff Buckley’s range while, yes, sounding very similar to Daniel Rossen. The song rises and falls, builds up a tower of noise and then pulls the rug out from underneath it. It’s a spastic, chaotic, beautiful mess of a song. - I Guess I'm Floating