Comments of the Moment: Talkin' To The Trees Album by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts

Neil YoungImage via Film "Coastal", Directed by Daryl Hannah (Click photo to enlarge)

Nearing the age of 80, Neil Young has somehow managed to release an album that some regard as "the most deeply personal songs" of his career.

Auspiciously enough, on Friday the 13th, June 2025, Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts released the album "Talkin' To The Trees".  Some have regarded the songs as so personally intense, that even Neil has over stepped a line. Others -- of course -- disagree that this is exactly the essence of Neil Young, going where other artists would never dare to go.

The apparent reaction dichotomy surrounds the album's first two songs: "Family Life" and "Dark Mirage" and their dark, raw honesty.

Our 1st Comment of the Moment on Talkin' To The Trees Album by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts is by the highly respected and oft quoted Scotsman:

There is nothing wrong with writing personal records. 

Toast, Tonight's the Night, and Homegrown are all deeply personal, whilst also demonstrating great warmth and good-natured character. The artist here might be leader, a rebel, a passionate lover, or a freedom fighter, but it's quite clear he's not a vandal, arsonist, abuser, or terrorist.

Other great records see artists "playing the villain" with relish and glee, in a fictional (or allegorical) world they've constructed.

The opening songs of Talkin to the Trees seem to be neither of these. They are both personal and toxic. Malignant.

Likewise, there is a clear difference between "dark" and "harmful". Sleeps with Angels is a dark masterpiece, but packed with empathy and hope. The same is true of Greendale: full of grief, full of care.

The superb Green is Blue from Colorado is extremely dark and rooted in reality, but it is not the musical equivalent of a forest fire. It's more an invitation to pick up the fire extinguisher.

Once the songs seemingly become badly-sharpened instruments of destruction, then I think the artist has made an error of judgement.

It's also entirely out of character for Neil Young. The record strikes me as a tragedy, with the cyanide of the first two tracks seeping into our appreciation of the bittersweetness that follows. The latter songs are contextualised by what we've heard so far.

If these songs are as autobiographical as they appear, it seems he's decided hope is lost and has hit the nuclear button out of frustration and fear. He's sawn away at the last threads of a relationship.

This is something I will neither celebrate nor enjoy. A younger Neil Young, or perhaps an older one, would agree with me.

The momentary Neil we are hearing from right now, meanwhile, seems to be in crisis. Dark Mirage (which, of course, is a song with a perspective, and not the gospel truth) hints at depression, or multiple depressions, within the world it depicts. If so, the song itself is essentially destructive.

I can say with as much certainty as anybody: there are ways to overcome depression. But I don't think these songs are amongst those ways. They are more like fuel for the fire.

When an artist is in despair or in crisis, he must step away from the sharp tools of his trade until he's regained enough composure to use them with his previous care.

[ADDENDUM]

I think we have to be careful not to fall too comfortably into the viewpoint that the song presents us. (Not necessarily in Neil's case, but the parallel would be that auto-biographies can sometimes be self-flattering or one-sided).

With respect to Dan Swan [see below]  and others, I'll admit I'm unconvinced about the whole "honest, authentic, real, brave" thing. A surgeon who wakes up in a bad mood and starts slashing away with the scalpel might be all of these things. He's also a bad surgeon. And he needs to put down the blade.

I don't think Neil will ever regret sharing the original Amber Jean song with the world. I'm not sure the same will be true of these new ones. To use his songwriting skill to dispatch his family as pawns in a chess game leads me to conclude he's made an error of judgement. Assuming my reading of this is correct, then presumably people close to him have made the same observation.

The flipside is that choosing to publish the arguably cruel songs here (at absolute best, a case of fighting fire with fire) is a wholly out-of-character aberration, both within the album and his decades-long career.

Of course, that doesn't make the traces of cyanide any easier to swallow.

Scotsman.

Many thanks Scotsman for sharing your thoughts on this vital subject in these times. Your contributions to the community are valued and appreciated.

As noted above, there is a flip side.  Here's a comment by Dan in response: 

I find it encouraging that those with such strong negative reactions to this album are sharing their thoughts. 

As I have always said; “the more powerful the reaction, the better the art”. I completely understand the negative reactions, but I simply don’t see it that way.

Yes; the lyrics are harsh and brutal in several songs, but they represent his honest voice speaking from a place none of us can truly know. His life is not ours to live. Yet we have all felt pain, and loss in our lives. As a songwriter he is simply communicating his heartfelt feelings of pain honestly. Perhaps it’s not important to him how it makes others feel, he’s just putting it out there. Maybe he finds it cathartic to lay it all out for everyone to hear. I don’t know; but I respect his willingness to do so.

I celebrate his honesty. I may not be able to fully understand it, because it’s not mine to understand. I just appreciate the fact that he’s willing to share it with the world. This is artistic bravery at its finest.

I found Prairie Wind to be uncomfortably personal too, but I loved that record. Pushing people’s comfort limits is a big part of the creative process, and from the reactions shared here, I think Neil has been successful with this aspect of it.

 [ADDENDUM]

We humans are all flawed imperfect beings, and none of us are immune to mistakes or misjudgments. I’m convinced that we all have our own forms of darkness that occasionally overshadow our better selves.

Neil has always been willing to be transparent about his flaws. And everyone is entitled to their own views on this matter. I’m not defending his approach to his pain, but I am defending his right to choose how he deals with it.

I’m not going to judge him because that’s not my job. He’s an artist making artistic choices about how he wants to express himself, and I certainly don’t fault him for doing that.

The collateral damage he may be causing himself is completely on him. I believe we can all agree that he is revealing his pain to the world, knowing that not everyone is going to appreciate it. I’m also convinced that he isn’t concerned with how people might feel about it.

Art can be messy sometimes. As can life itself.

Peace 🙏

Similar to Scotsman above, many thanks Dan for being here and being a regular contributor.  Like Scots, your contributions to the community are valued and appreciated.

More on  Talkin' To The Trees Album by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts.

Talkin' To The Trees by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts

The album "Talkin' to the Trees," recorded with Chrome Hearts, was released on Friday, 13 June on CD, vinyl, and digital.

In May, Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts released a new Official Music Video for the song "Lets Roll Again".

 "Lets Roll Again"  Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts (Video Frame via Official Video) (Click photo to enlarge)

In January,  Neil Young dropped a track from his latest album titled "big change is coming". In addition, an Official Music Video was released featuring the band  The Chrome Hearts.

 "big change is coming" 

by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts

(Video Frame via Official Video) 

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