The end of The Lonely Forest is notable not for what the music world lost with the departure of the anthemically inclined and emotionally forthright pop band, but for the dashed hopes it signified. When the band announced, before its Sasquatch! appearance this spring, that it was going on “indefinite hiatus,” it spelled an official end to an optimistic run that started with a win at the Sound Off! under-21 band battle at EMP in 2006 and was quickly followed by its signing to a major label and some help from Death Cab for Cutie guitarist and noted producer Chris Walla. Back then the buzz was deafening, and the band’s strident songs, hopeful but tinged with a particular Pacific Northwest darkness, seemed headed for bigger arenas. Alas, that was not meant to be; after some disheartening wrangling with the major-label world (recorded for posterity in the band’s last album Adding

Up the Wasted Hours), the band is no more. Or, rather, will be no more, following its Bumbershoot appearance next month. Catch The Lonely Forest while you can. thelonelyforest.com

Read all of our picks for Arts & Culture, and explore the rest of this year’s edition of Best of Seattle.