Scattered Trees, The Alternate Routes, Valise

How does a talented songwriter cope with the death of his father? If you are Nate Eiesland, you write a suite of cathartic songs. Then you pull together the old friends whom you played with for years as the band Scattered Trees, despite the fact that the members have scattered. And, though the band has been on indefinite hiatus, you get the songs recorded and released an extraordinary album titled Sympathy.

With a musical sensibility that conjures Conor Oberst and Chris Martin, Sympathy is a powerful collection that takes the listener through the arc of emotions and events that deal with a reality that most of us must confront at some point in this messy thing called life.

Having played for years in and around Chicago, the band is tight, rejuvenated and definitely off its indefinite hiatus.