Lohio

During the recording of Lohio's Family Tree, the band spent their evenings together at sound engineer Jake Hanner's farmhouse studio in upper-Appalachian Pennsylvania. Carting bags of groceries, they listened to yesterday's takes while chopping vegetables and sat down to eat together, family style, before beginning the day's work. Family Tree is a portrait of the way a band can become your family.
With their newest release, the indie-folk outfit Lohio creates an album every bit as grand and sweeping as the likes of Arcade Fire or The National, but one that might have been composed on makeshift instruments in someone's backyard workshop. Family Tree has a handmade, almost colloquial feel, and the levity of instrumentation (toy piano anyone?) often belies the weight of the songs. Like a collection of short stories, the EP offers excerpts on life, family, and the inevitable milestones we all encounter, all couched in glowing arrangements and indie-pop hooks.
Lohio is built around the songwriting of Greg Dutton. The band is based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but Dutton's songs capture the pastoral nature of a boy who grew up on an Ohio farm. Often paired with the clear and delicate vocals of Liz Adams, Dutton is also supported by an array of musicians handpicked out the tight-knit Pittsburgh scene. Their use of glee-club-like group vocals add to the feeling that you're listening to the region's best hometown pageant.
Fans of Sufjan Stevens and The Polyphonic Spree will be delighted with the playful, sunny arrangements on songs like "Leave the City, Leave your Room". Close listeners will recognize the influence of greats like Neil Young, Yo La Tengo, and Teenage Fanclub on tracks like "Wind and Leaves" and "Funeral Song". And few will be able to deny the inherent catchiness and subtle complexity of the title track, "Family Tree."
The band has garnered national attention with features on NPR's All Songs Considered and airplay on taste maker stations such as KCRW and KEXP. Lohio has also shared the stage with a range of acts including Ra Ra Riot, The Avett Brothers, Tokyo Police Club, David Bazan, Deer Tick and Nicole Atkins.