Deer Fang – Forest For The Trees
Canadian band Deer Fang releases their debut full-length album, Forest For The Trees.
Emerging from a desire to reconnect with the heavier sounds of their youth, vocalist/bassist Lauren Leprich and guitarist Jay Edonel craft a distinctive sound that melds grunge, shoegaze, punk, and alternative rock influences, evoking a sense of nostalgia while forging their own distinct path forward.
After writing and recording a plethora of tunes produced by Scotty Komer (Protest the Hero, Silverstein, Boys Night Out) and mastered by Mike Kalajian (Drug Church, NewFound Glory, Thrice), Deer Fang enlisted good friends and extreme talents Eric Rudling and Cody Linthicum to help fill out the live show lineup, and the pieces fell into place. These recordings culminated into their first two EPs, Blossom and Bloom.
Forest For The Trees is the embodiment of the famous idiom. We are so constantly lost in the small details and insignificant moments that sometimes we lose the bigger picture.
The songs on our debut full-length deal with some heavy topics, from death and loss, to domestic and emotional abuse, self-criticism and depression to defiance and independence.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, behind almost every song is a current of positivity fed by lyrics meant to create connections and inspire hope.
“So Surreal” is the realization we came to when we saw we were doing things right. With audiences growing and engagement rising, it finally felt like those long nights, sweat, tears and endless hours of work were paying off. There is so much time, work, and effort that goes into creating and releasing music, which is a perspective that most audiences don’t see from the outside.
“Tasting Blood” and “Over It” are about finding the strength and courage to leave toxicity and abuse behind and moving forward, while “Crawling” is the red flag warnings that others, certain men in particular, give off when approaching females.
Together, these songs collectively also reflect the reality that many people are silently carrying struggles behind closed doors, often feeling pressured to hide what they’re going through rather than being able to speak openly about it.
“Howl” and “Casting Shadows” are both, in their own ways, dealing with those in places of power and the patriarchy, about refusing to bow down and breaking free from societal restraints; gaining independence and fighting against those who push to oppress.
“The Letter” deals with leaving someone who, despite having good intentions and love, can not provide the attention, care and romance that one deserves.
“No Matter What”, on the other hand, is about sticking around for your friends and being by their side, even if time and distance separates you.
“Broken” comes from a place of self-doubt, but knowing you are not your individual failings, but a sum of all those pieces. That you can be both broken and whole, lost but on the right track, all at the same time.
The title track and album closer, “Forest For The Trees”, is about knowing true loss from death, but finding inspiration to be all the amazing things that person was, and the legacy they left behind. It focuses on the experience of losing someone whose kindness and wisdom left a permanent mark on the people around them. The kind of person who would set aside their own struggles to listen, offer guidance, and remind others to see beyond the immediate moment. Someone who always understood the bigger picture, even in the midst of chaos. At its core, the song is about carrying that spirit forward after they’re gone, learning from the compassion they showed so freely, and striving to become that source of comfort, understanding, and perspective for others in your own life.
With all of these songs, our hope is that everyone out there who hears our music or sees our videos can relate in some way. That they know we all go through these hardships and they are not alone. We are here for them. We all face hardships, loss, fear, and uncertainty in different ways, and these songs are a reflection of that shared human experience. More than anything, we want our music to offer a sense of comfort, understanding, and connection to anyone who may need it, and to remind people that there will always be others who understand what they’re going through.
Tour Dates
June 27 – St. Catharines, Ontario – Warehouse Concert Hall
July 25 – Toronto, Ontario – Monarch Tavern
August 15 – Toronto, Ontario – Monarch Tavern
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