For a band that's been performing for years, it's about time ThinkTree released an album. Their long-awaited debut album titled "Eight/Thirteen" is almost everything I had hoped it would be. This five-member Boston-bred band is like no other (I guess one could say "Nothing compares to ThinkTree"). You may have heard ThinkTree; they had a song last year that became popular on the local charts on college and alternative radio stations. The song was called "Hire a Bird," and was their only recorded release on vinyl. Now you can see their new seven-song CD on display at Tower Records.

Unlike most electronic bands, ThinkTree has a sound that is all their own, and it sounds as if they actually spent more than five minutes composing and executing the songs...which is more than I can say for some of those synthetic pop bands out there. All of ThinkTree's material is original and thoughtful, and the music is just as cutting as the absurdly poetic lyrics doled out generously by vocalist and primary songwriter, Peter Moore. The other four members are Will Ragano (guitars, violin), Paul Lanctot (synthesizers, vocoder, and samples), Krishna Venkatesh (samples and synthesizers), and Jeff Biegert (electronic drum pads and sounds). My only disappointment with "Eight/Thirteen" is the length...it's not long enough! Their repertory of songs is much larger than the seven cuts on the album, as I have come to know through their live performances.

The first time I saw ThinkTree was at a benefit concert on Boston Common in March, 1989. I had only heard one of their songs ("Lovers") occasionally on WFNX (101.7 FM). Since that performance, I have seen them perform several times, at the too-few of their all-age shows, including one at Bunratty's, and one opening for the Creatures (a derivative of Siouxsie and the Banshees) at the Citi club. All of their performances are very intense, the audio, as well as visually, as any fan will tell you.

If you have never seen or heard the fabulous ThinkTree before, I suggest investing in their new album (on CD, LP, and cassette) which isn't very expensive. I just can't keep them a secret any longer. To experience ThinkTree live, you can check the concert listings in the Phoenix newspaper. They're bound to pop up and do an all-ages show sometime soon, and it's worth the ten or so bucks it'll cost to see them. n