The Lonely Forest

The waterfront community of Anacortes, Washington, served as the birthplace for the Lonely Forest, a band built around vocalist and pianist John Van Deusen. In 2005 the project expanded into a four-piece when Van Deusen recruited guitarist Tony Ruland, drummer Braydn Krueger, and bassist Eric Sturgeon to flesh out his piano-centered material. Their atmospheric textures caught the attention of Seattle engineer Jack Endino, who had overseen Nirvana’s 1989 album Bleach, prompting the group to track the Regicide EP at his studio in 2006. Shortly after that EP appeared, Ruland departed, and rather than seek a replacement the remaining members allowed Van Deusen’s piano to occupy a more prominent place in the arrangements. Working inside Krueger’s garage, the trio assembled Nuclear Winter, a conceptual indie-rock set exploring apocalypse and interstellar themes. Although distribution stayed largely regional, KEXP and other Pacific Northwest stations championed the record. A more streamlined approach defined the follow-up, 2009’s We Sing the Body Electric!, which highlighted the band’s emerging facility for concise pop melodies. The Lonely Forest subsequently joined the roster of Trans, the imprint launched by Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla, and issued a self-titled EP on the label in 2010. Their third full-length, Arrows, arrived the next year and earned endorsements from KEXP, NPR, and Amazon. Walla’s involvement deepened on 2013’s Adding Up the Wasted Hours, where he served as producer and also handled mixing duties on three tracks.