Featured New Artist: Future of Forestry

First of all, this is a bit of a new thing for me, but this might be something I continue doing. Seeing as I listen to music SO much and am constantly discovering awesome new artists, I thought it might be an idea if I took to posting my finds to the internet at large. So please feel free to leave feedback on how you think I'm doing so far, and if it works out, this might become a running feature on my blog; be it monthly, fortnightly, or maybe even weekly. How does that sound?
Anyway, here goes....

"Future of Forestry" are a relatively new band to me. In fact, I heard their music for the first time probably slightly less than a week ago when I downloaded their Young Man Follow EP off Noisetrade.
Though their music is quite fresh to my ears, I have heard of them before, as their name is oft-banded around  Christian music sites such as Jesusfreakhideout.com which I tend to frequent quite often. So with that in mind, and the promise of "ambient rock" goodness, I hit the download button. And was suitably impressed.

These guys are an indie-rock band based in Southern California, who have been playing music under the name "Future of Forestry" since 2006 (their name being taken from a poem by renowned author CS Lewis). As far I can tell, the band is largely based around the lead singer/songwriter Eric OwYoung  (whose last name sounds quite familiar to a friend of mine). Eric's voice and songwriting talents are at the fore of  the Young Man Follow EP, and the beautiful way these songs are crafted and delivered help this EP be one of the best new finds of 2012 for me.
For me, the ambiance of the music is what helps to make this band stand out from the crowd. As anyone who knows me well enough can guess, I'm a bit of a sucker for ambient music. And considering I'd just spent the last week with Sigur Ros's cd Valtari on repeat on my Ipod, the fact that these guys stood up quite well comparatively (yet still having their own distinct sound) was quite a pleasant surprise. The EP had only four songs on, and of these my favourites would be "Would You Come Home" and "Chariots". "Would You Come Home" is an amazing acoustic-guitar based song which is played over a lush background of synths, making a lovely ambient piece. While "Chariots" starts off sounding much the same, it picks up and is one of the rockier songs on the album, with an incredibly catchy hook. It takes a few listens, admittedly, but fairly soon it gets stuck in your head, and it'll take something quite incredible to get it out.

This band is a refreshing new find, especially among Christian artists, as so few of their songs fall in the same format as each other. The orchestral arrangements, soaring vocals, and inspiring lyrics are what make them such a promising young band, and one I will definitely keep an eye on. If you want a break from the normal, then look no further than "Future of Forestry".