Search - The Lyndsay Diaries :: The Tops Of Trees Are On Fire

Unkown Artist Well Worth Knowing

Peter Stern | New Jersey | 06/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Lyndsay Diaries is one of those artists not too many people have heard about, but most who have heard it have something very positive to say. Scott Windsor started out writing songs when his friend died in a car crash (see "Whispers Of A Long Goodnight" on his older record). There's a definite progress on this record. The songs are better lyrically and darker in sound, as well as incorporating a variety of instruments other than acoustic guitar including drums, upright bass, harmonica and keyboards. His voice improved as well from the last record. Many people say it was really off key and horrible, but I don't see it...regardless, he made a major improvement on his vocals. Quick Rundown:
01. The Tops Of Trees Are On Fire - Great opener, in my opinion one of the better songs on the record. Despite the slow tempo, it has an upbeat feel to it.
02. Cowboy - A nice relaxed tune Scott wrote about living in Nashville. Harmonica and upright bass add a really nice Western touch.
03. Mixtapes And Memories - Upbeat and sarcastically happy song, "I promise this won't be another song about being alone." One of the more upbeat songs on this record, and the chorus will stick in your head.
04. Sometimes - A slower, more heartfelt song that sharply but perfectly contrasts its predecessor. The lyrics are very easy to relate to, the need and desire for people to recognize you're upset and help you feel better when you're feeling depressed.
05. Paper Airplane Dream - Like its title, the song is light and airy. It has more of a feel like you're floating above the ground in a hot air balloon and it's foggy. That's just the picture I get.
06. The Consequences Of Learning How To Fly - This song has a darker feel to it than the last few. It also has one of the best lines, in my opinion, on the whole CD: "This is as real as it gets. This is real as I can be, and it just feels right." Occasionally the song's mood starts sounding a little more positive and upbeat, but then it shifts back to the darker sound. Nice metaphor for looking at both sides of the issue and wrestling with it in your mind...or that could just be me thinking too hard.
07. How We Kill Ourselves - Weird title, I know, but the song is rather upbeat in its feel. Not much to say about this song, its basically just guitars and vocals, fairly catchy.
08. The 20th Year - LOVE the intro with all the synth stuff, it sounds really great. The vocals came out really great on this song. One of my favorites. Scott says its about how being 20 years old is hard, because you're too old for the 18 and under high school crowd, but too young for the 21 and older drinking and partying crowd. Best line on the CD: "We all love God when things are all right, but the fact of the matter is they never are."
09. Illustrations Of Melbourne - My FAVORITE song on the album. The lyrics are so brutally honest, its amazing. It's about how his friend died in a car crash (different friend than what started his career). The effect on his vocals for the first half of the song fits in perfectly. Really sad song.
10. Des Peres - A really good closing song. Very simple, one acoustic guitar with worn out strings played with just his fingers, and one simple vocal track, reminiscing about the times he and a friend shared in their youth, and how different things are between them now.So there you have it. It's a fairly hard CD to find other than online, but if you buy it you won't be disappointed. If you like The Lyndsay Diaries, check out other bands on the amazing Militia Group label like Copeland, The Beautiful Mistake, Brandtson, and Acceptance."

Words Creating Emotions

sarah | Orlando , Florida, USA | 11/15/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This cd to me is one of the best albums that can depict good quality emo. Although this is much different from other well known emo bands i.e.dashboard confessional, taking back sunday. it has its own unique quality and feel. please if you have the chance see scott windsor play...very good performer and artist. well done lyrics :-)"

A Blogger's Heaven...

Alex Pittman | Fredricksburg, VA | 11/12/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I got this cd to review for the college radio and the record label tagged a little reference to Dashboard Confessional and Bright Eyes. "Well," I thought, "I don't like Dashboard, but Bright Eyes is incredible. This will be interesting." Maybe its because I'm a musical elitist and acoustic gigs don't escape my ever-critical tongue. Howver, I was more than willing to give this a fair shot; I worship at the shrines of Conor Oberst, Jeff Mangum, Elliot Smith, and Nick Drake, so it seems that I might enjoy this. However, this is more comparable to Dashboard Confessional...in fact if I hadn't read the cd title I would have thought that Chris Carrabba had put out another abysmal album. Tracks like "How We Kill Ourselves" have the same full sound to the chords, similar strum patterns, and breathy voice that Dashboard uses on "The Places You've Come to Fear the Most." I guess I've also grown weary of the whole emo thing. With songs titles like, "Mixtapes and Memories," "The Consequences of Learning How to Fly," and "How We Kill Ourselves," I can't help but think of all the broken-hearted and sobbing songs that are going to spill out of Scott Windsor's mouth, splatter on the floor, and mess up my nice shoes. Bright Eyes has got edge to some of his songs: "Padraic My Prince," and "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh" at least get gritty and pack some punch with them. However, this is an album meant to pluck your heart strings. And for what it is, it does a fairly decent job. The songs do have some catchy hooks - "Cowboy" being my favorite on the cd - and maybe this guy is writing truly heartfelt lyrics that I've just grown weary of due to repetition. If you like Dashboard, I think you'll like this."