Future of Forestry

Open Wide

Credential Recordings

Grade - A

            Many bands have taken names from the writings of C.S. Lewis, as is the case with the Future of Forestry.  Taken from a C.S. Lewis poem, the band further interprets Lewis’ industrialization warning to include saving our very lives from the clutches of technology.   As a techno-professional, I found this analogy to be very intriguing and for the most part agreeable.  As a society, we are wired to the gills and the up side is worldwide connectivity, while on the flip side, technology has us running a marathon we cannot afford to quit.

            The band is partially comprised of two former members of Something Like Silas, Eric Owyoung and Nick Maybury.  Ken Andrews, who at the same time was working with Beck produced the new album.  The layers of sound come across quite well and the band was able to experiment a lot with their sound, which has worked out well for “Open Wide.” 

            Aside from the blending of pop-rock and tricky guitar hooks, I am more impressed with the spiritual content of the lyrics.  The songwriting is structured in a way that the spiritual message does not come across as trivial and I really like that it’s not hidden and hard to interpret (like a typical C.S. Lewis poem).

            - Ken W.