Sea of Trees (www.seaoftrees.com)

Over the last year, the members of Albany-based Sea of Trees have been busy cultivating their own brand of indie-rock music. After the release of a demo last year and many performances throughout New York, Sea of Trees is now preparing for the release of their first full-length album, Animal Sounds, on February 16.

Taking nearly six months to complete and recorded in the hot attic of Franklin's Tower Restaurant in Albany, Animal Sounds is a carefully-crafted album. Band members Dylan Palazzo (guitar, vocals), Cecelia Martinez (vocals, percussion), Justin Engineri (guitar), Mitch Masterson (bass) and Ian White (drums) came together with the goal of creating something that was consistent both musically and emotionally.

"We didn't want to fall into the trap of just throwing all of our songs together and calling it an album," said Martinez. "We had to cut some songs, which was hard, and we also wrote new material specifically for the album."

Produced, recorded, and mixed independently with Masterson at the helm, members of Sea of Trees  have been on the front lines for every step in the album process.

"I had never really done a project of this magnitude before," said Masterson. "It was so much more involved than I imagined, but I'm glad to know that I had a say in every little piece of this album."

They also each have an important role in the songwriting of the band.

"It's evolving into a more organic, natural process," said Palazzo. "I think the strengthening relationship between the band members, both personally and musically, is the biggest contributing factor to our songwriting."

The music of Sea of Trees skirts the lines of many different genres. Palazzo describes it as "manic and moody. High-peaking dynamics laced with gentle melodies. We are striving to invoke chills down the spines of our audience." The band has been described as both a "prog-rock extravaganza" and "a mellow, indie-folk rock group with some gorgeous male-female vocal parts – and bells" by members of the Albany music community.

Band members credit their growing confidence and tight-knit relationship for their live performances that have been described as having a "dynamic, visceral energy."

"We love playing together, and when you get us up in front of a crowd, we can really feed off that energy," Palazzo said. "It feels real."

Animal Sounds was mastered by Carl Saff in Chicago Ill., who came highly recommended by fellow Albany musician Ashley Pond. The album features guest musicians Laura Corozza and Craig von Dutra of prog-rock band Aficionado on flute, trumpet, and melodica, as well as Jeanne Lowe on cello.

Animal Sounds will be available on iTunes, AmazonMP3, Rhapsody, eMusic and Amie Street on February 16
with a CD release in April.