THE LONELY FOREST

Most emerging indie rock acts would shy away from being compared to Walt Whitman, either because it sets the bar pretty high or because some hipsters may not be familiar with the granddaddy of all American poetry. Yet The Lonely Forrest do just that on their 2009 LP “We Sing the Body Electric!” by name checking one of Whitman’s most famous poems in the title. But piano-driven four-piece is almost eclectic, literate and ambitious enough to weather the comparison. At the very least they pay homage to Whitman by sharing their everyman perspective as melodically and honestly as they can.

BRIAN CONANT