If These Trees Could Talk – The Hidden Hand (Review)

Personally, I have a rather special connection to this band, as they were one of the bands – along with Red Forest – that got me hooked on the post-rock genre many years ago. Many of their songs are still regular features on my post-rock playlists, which is why I’ve always found it a shame that we’ve heard so little from the band. Ten years have passed since their last album. It wasn’t until 2024 that the band made a comeback with the song “Trail of Whispering Giants”. The announcement of their (first) fourth studio album didn’t come until 2026.

„This release means a lot to me not only spiritually but emotionally“, said Zack Kelly in the press release. He founded the band in 2005 together with his brother. „There were a lot of up-and-downs during the making of this album and the journey took longer than anticipated, but the end goal is to make music that holds an emotional imprint, and I hope we have succeeded.“ And I think that once you’ve listened to the album, you’ll understand what they mean. It tells of the struggle to carry on, of literally falling forwards – only to return with another album in the end.

I’m deliberately choosing not to single out any individual tracks, as that wouldn’t do justice to the album’s overall structure. I always find this particularly difficult with concept albums like this. If, however, I were to ask myself which tracks will find their way onto my playlists, my first choice would be “Blurry Creatures.” The song combines choral vocals with three guitars, which simply invite you to close your eyes and lose yourself in the music.

“Metanoia” manages, in a wonderful way, to convey both hope and despair at the same time – a combination I haven’t heard in this form for a long time. And “Moon Machine” is the classic, over-the-top post-rock track that takes you through the entire emotional spectrum of the genre. Intense passages alternate with emotive moments and quiet pauses. At times the instruments support one another; at others, they stand in opposition, as if vying for dominance.

All in all, it’s fair to say that the band has evolved without compromising their signature sound. The electronic elements have been expanded, whilst the soundscapes of their earlier albums have been retained and thoughtfully enhanced. You can tell straight away: yes, that’s If These Trees Could Talk. That’s exactly what I like most about this album, because it brings back memories of when I first discovered Post-Rock.

In terms of quality, it is also a typical instrumental Post-Rock album that needs no lyrics – the sound alone is enough to tell a story. Or rather: to give us scope for our own interpretations. The album title leaves precisely this scope open, and I have found myself questioning my initial interpretations of the content more than once. Perhaps that, in the end, is the greatest strength of this album.

Patrik Transcended

From: Lake Constance (Germany)
Favorite Artists: Russian Circles – Skalmöld – Kettcar
Best Show: Skalmöld@Club Vaudeville, Lindau (2017)