And Also the Trees

And Also the Trees is a British post-punk band, originally from Inkberrow, Worcestershire, England. Formed in the summer of 1979, the band achieved some success between 1985 and 1992, particularly in France and Germany. Initially composed of Simon Huw Jones (vocals), Justin Jones (guitars), Nick Havas (drums), and Graham Havas (bass) – replaced by Steven Burrows in 1983 – the band takes its name from one of Simon Huw Jones's early texts, “Green is the Sea/And Also the Trees”. And Also The Trees is associated with the post-punk or cold wave (France) musical movement.

While And Also the Trees undoubtedly belongs to this English post-punk wave, which for a time brought them close to bands like Wire, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, or The Cure, it is entirely possible to detect the influence of psychedelic bands from the late 1960s such as The Doors, Love, or The Velvet Underground (more particularly the album White Light/White Heat), or that of artists like Scott Walker or Jacques Brel, through the dramatic and theatrical tension that emanates from most of their tracks, the importance of atmospheric work, and the care given to melodies. Justin Jones's guitar sound is one of the band's distinctive elements. His atypical playing most often evokes that of a mandolin player whose sound has been amplified and reverberated.

Strangely, it is outside the United Kingdom that And Also The Trees gathers the largest number of its admirers, with the British public evidently remaining doubtful about the band's imagery and Simon Huw Jones's lyrics. A quip from John Peel, who invited them to record one of his famous Peel Sessions in 1984, sums up the situation: And Also the Trees was “too English for the English”. The imagery of And Also the Trees was initially deeply rooted in the landscapes of Worcestershire and the history of the place where they grew up. This atypical pastoral universe permeates their music, lyrics, and album covers.

With its cult band status, And Also The Trees has enjoyed a clear resurgence of interest with the releases in 2007 of (Listen for) the Rag and Bone Man, an acoustic project, When the Rains come, in 2009, and the album Hunter Not The Hunted, in 2012. The band is praised for the longevity of its creativity. After releasing Mother-of-pearl Moon in 2024, an album considered by the press as a new cornerstone of their career, they released their sixteenth album The Devil's Door in February 2026. The latter earned the band a radio session on France Culture.

Robert Smith, who has been interested in the band since its beginnings, invited And Also the Trees to open for The Cure's three concerts at Les Arènes de Nîmes on 24, 25, and 26 July 2026.