Tree – Our Day Will Come – Review

Tree

Our Day Will Come (Wonderdrug)
by Scott Hefflon

Tree‘s day has come. This 35 minutes CD (70 minutes if you include “Super Secret Jukebox Mix,” the entire CD all over again) broadens the horizons of the “Boston Hardwood” heroes. It doesn’t take long to note the songwriting maturity – “Real” opens with a classic, rolling Tree riff that harkens back to the best song they’ve ever written, “Question Abuse,” 15 seconds in River opens his mouth and you know yer listening to Tree (fucker’s got an exaggerated enunciation that, while almost comical at times, is distinctive as shit), but just shy of the minute mark comes the shocker: he, like sings. Who knew? And he has a wonderful quiver to his voice like, gulp!, Morrissey. Who’da guessed?

And once the shock wears off, ya realize this is the best work Tree has ever done. By a long shot. Without pulling up their roots (“Pesticide” would fit nicely on A Lot to Fear), Tree has grown and stretched their, um, branches. They can cruise effortlessly through a punky number, a hard rocker, a shit-kickin’ stomper, throw in some arty production tricks (a couple windy transitions, a bullhorn, a beatbox, and various other quaint odds & ends), and still stay heavy as a brickhouse, baby. Who else can solo, groove hard’n’heavy like Clutch, segue with some stoner psycho-delia, and sing about them environmental issues that’re so important to them?

“Real” is the obvious single (showing off River’s voice), “Texas” is a bloody dust-kickin’ rager, “Pesticide” (as mentioned) is pure Tree hardcore, “All of Us” is the singalong anthem (at 4:30 it’s a little too long for a single, not to mention redundant, but it’s got a chorus that’s sure to be a crowd favorite), and they still have the humor to throw on 1:30 straight-to-the-fuckin’-point numbers like “God Grows Grass.” Hot on the heels of Radio Bootleg for the Restless Masses (an often shitty-sounding “greatest hits” from the old days), Tree show how far they’ve come and what they’re capable of.
(PO Box 995 Boston, MA 02123)