Discography
Hold You High  (2004)
Root (2003)
Invade My Soul (2001)
These Days (2001)

  Grace Hotel
  Overall rating: ++

Album Reviews

Just as the disc's opening track proclaims "get back to the root of it all," the members of By The Tree have done just that with the release of their third offering Root. With new guitarist Charlie Goddard in tow and producer Joe Baldrige, (Jewel, Newsboys, dc Talk) at the helm, the band sounds strong navigating through ten tracks. "I Need You" and "Far Away" are fine examples of unadulterated guitar bliss that rock the senses. Add to that the power chorus and bass breakdown on "Faith That Breathes (Break Me)," and you have tunes with chops. On the bands previous two releases the mix of slower cuts on the discs aided in creating some great dynamic shifts for the band. On Root there isn't one ballad to be found. The closest thing to it is the radio-friendly "Root of it All," and this cut has "hit" written all over it. Root is a rock disc -- make no mistake about it -- and that's exactly the message By the Tree wanted to deliver here.


~ Steven Douglas Losey