In "Turn Off This Song and Go Outside," The Lonely Forest urges listeners to get out of their own heads. The result is one of the best and most honest slices of pop music around.

A heartfelt ballad, The Lonely Forest's "Turn Off This Song and Go Outside" is as suitable for singing along as it is self-deprecating. Long regarded as an up-and-comer in the Pacific Northwest, the band recently collaborated with Death Cab for Cutie guitarist/producer Chris Walla to take the anthemic, poppy earnestness of Jimmy Eat World and transform it into a sound that's both playful and emotionally gripping.

"Turn off this song / Find someone to love / Turn off this song / You can listen to it later / Go outside," singer John Van Deusen implores, implicating himself as just another navel-gazing narcissist in need of some fresh air. As his band ebbs and swells in perfect concert, "Turn Off This Song and Go Outside" serves as a catchy call to arms, not to mention one of the best and most honest slices of pop music around.

This story originally ran on Feb. 3, 2011.

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