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‘The Forest’ allures and enraptures listeners
A journey through the imagination of Hitide.Lotide
By Zachary Hoeppner
On Saturday Aug. 23, with the help of a few forest friends fully clad in finely groomed fur, the forest sprung to life on stage at the Miramar Theater for the CD release of Hitide.Lotide’s definitive debut.
Since early 2006, Brookfield, WI native and UW-Eau Claire student Nate Gruber has been carefully sculpting musical compositions under the moniker Hitide.Lotide. His debut release, “The Forest” (2008) is a concept album about forest creatures and the land in which they dwell.
On Saturday Aug. 23, with the help of a few forest friends fully clad in finely groomed fur, the forest sprung to life on stage at the Miramar Theater for the CD release of Hitide.Lotide’s definitive debut.
The musicians played in animal costumes and seemed to dance about as Allyson Lassiter and Katie Schaffer created playful animation on the backdrop. With an overhead projector they used shapes cut out of multicolored transparencies. The animation paired with the compositions provided changes of scenery to match the content within each song. This concert was for some the culmination of an entire summer of out-pouring energy, sweat and raw diligence to craft.
“The Forest” is an album that will capture your imagination as you journey into a land filled with beauty and mystery.
It all begins with a song titled the “Willow Tree,” a composition that mimics the graceful sway of a willow’s sinewy veil. “The Spider” follows suit, building up to an inspired crescendo of raw, yet cohesive energy. Next up was “The Koala,” who according to the author, Nate Gruber, is the main character in the forest. The koala embarks on a melancholy and lilting movement, telling the beginning of this Koala’s journey through the forest.
“The Owl,” poised to capture the ears of even the most impatient listener, takes flight on this dynamic ensemble of musical reverie. Then, filled with darkness, “The Beaver” tells a desperate and eerie tale of promiscuity and the wickedness within a selfish heart.
“The Loon” stretches its neck to share with an audience its gentle song of love.
As a type of grand synthesis to it all, the title track is filled with the joyful sound of flutes and mandolin as this rhythmic composition entices you to stay a while.
The languid pulse of a grand piano echoes as “The Koala Flees” in an attempt to escape the constant light poured out by the eastern star, which you will meet as the album progresses.
With a soft voice, “The Butterfly” delights us with love matched only by the fragility of her wings. And “The Black Bear” speaks out in a playful tune of time spent exploring the forest while close to the one she loves. “The Hare” delivers an irresistible melody backed by charismatic saxophones and a jubilant tambourine.
“The Fox” beckons us to imagine a time when all animals will dance and sing together in forest harmony under the light of the eastern star. The delicate lilting of guitars, saxophones, and choir voices on “The Tortoise” encompass all characteristics of this wise and humble creature.
Notably the most dissonant song on the album, “The Koala Travels North,” is anything but jubilant. Its sardonic lyrics are wrought with dark poetic imagery.
The lush and infectious piano on “The Eagle” is a persuasive display of this creature’s attentive watch over those living far below its wings that dance upon languid gusts of wind.
Hitide.Lotide truly saves the best for last. “The Eastern Star” dances about with soaring flutes and graceful melodies that spring forth in this rapturous culminating track.
“The Forest” offers the listener an intimate musical experience. Never straying but a few marks from its unified sound, Hitide.Lotide’s full-length debut release blends humble beauty and poignant song writing that establish “The Forest” as an album with sustained allure.
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