The whole story began with a talk at a drum shop. I was there with a friend of mine and I searched for a particular sound effect. The salesman showed an option and he demonstrated how this thing sounds with other instruments, so he played a song on the computer. My friend and I really liked the music, because we had an impression that it is made by excellent musicians just for the sake of playing good music. It was The Unbending Trees.
We checked their MySpace and got captivated by the tracks. MySpace was crucial in their history, for the fact that Ben Watt heard the then-duo’s music through that site. These songs were just sketches—Balázs Havasi’s piano melodies with the lyrics of Kristóf Hajós and also the voice of the latter until they manage to find a singer. But things changed direction: Ben Watt made a contract with the guys. It was 2007 when they released their debut EP, The First Day. At that time The Unbending Trees had a third member Péter Háry, who played both the bass and the trumpet. In a year’s time the band became a quartet, as drummer and percussionist Andor Gábor joined the group. The Unbending Trees started playing gigs in London and in Hungary as well girdled with critical acclaim in the UK press here and there. The autumn of 2008 brought Chemically Happy (Is the New Sad), their first full-length album. In 2009 Péter Háry left the band—he was replaced with Ferenc Honyecz, who not only plays the bass but also the harp. The band is now working on their follow-up to Chemically Happy.
As the title of the full-length suggests, it is not an easy listening material. It is a look into one’s soul, getting deeper and deeper with the desire of reaching the core of feelings and thoughts. The stone of depression sits on the whole album, although shreds of hope are visible through songs like ‘The First Day’, ‘Overture’ and ‘Alfred’s Lovesong’. The lyrical darkness is in consonance with the chamber ballad form driven by piano parts. In the intimate songs it is only the piano which accompanies the singer. In other cases, when the theme requires more dramatic instrumentation, the bass and the drums strengthen the effect of the music. The Unbending Trees truly respect the music they are playing. This attitude helps to build tension and to create a huge spectrum of dynamics. The straight lyrics and the expressive music are combined with such sensibility that is substantial to get close to the listeners. And they are really close. - Soma Bradák, 2011 summer
