I have been a fan of A Fine Frenzy since her first hit “Almost Lover” came out in 2007. Since her lovesick, ballad-singing days, the singer, whose real name is Alison Sudol, has evidently matured along with her music.

A Fine Frenzy’s new album, “PINES,” was released in early October. Whereas “One Cell in the Sea” (2007) was very soft with a lot of piano, and “Bomb in a Birdcage” (2009) was pretty upbeat, “PINES” is somewhat of a cross between the two.

Out of the 13 tracks, there are many that could have been on her first album, such as “Sad Sea Song,”which sounds exactly like the title would make it seem. Track six, “Dream in the Dark,” sounds a bit like Gregory and the Hawk’s “Boats and Birds” with a “Love Me Tender” feel to it at the same time. The words alone are beautifully poetic and eloquent: “Those salt cliffs can’t be scaled/The evidence of those who failed/Their skeletons lay strange and frail/Like lace among the rocks.”

The whole album feels like a walk through a forest, which is at times eerie and others enchanting, displayed through more upbeat songs characteristic of “Bomb in a Birdcage,” such as “Sailing Song” and “It’s Alive.” A song called “Dance of the Gray Whales” features no lyrics at all, simply piano and a sinister feel.

The opening track, “Pine Song,” actually deals with the act of pining for someone or something, the content of which is more characteristic of “One Cell in the Sea.” Throughout the album, however, it is clear that Sudol has stopped “pining for a man” and is picking up the pieces, or “pines.” It is much more self-reflective and leans toward happiness and contentment rather than heartbreak.

A Fine Frenzy wraps up the album perfectly with the last two songs, “Now is the Start” and “Untitled (Grasses Grow).” “Now is the Start” really exemplifies how the album comes full circle. Sudol’s reflection is over, and now (at the end) is the time for a new start: “New start in the end/There is a new heart under there/Beneath these new parts everywhere.” While the song is more upbeat and joyful, “Untitled (Grasses Grow)” wraps up the essence of the album by bringing back the idea of pines and referring back to the soft feel of the first track.

According to an interview with Anthropologie, Sudol said that “the entire record is a story, and each song is a chapter that leads into the next,” which is exactly how “PINES” sounds and feels.

I almost prefer her more depressing music just because of how beautiful and melancholy it was, but it is clear that, similar to bands like Incubus, A Fine Frenzy has grown up along with her sound. However, I think people who are die-hard fans of her “Almost Lover” days will still be pleased that Sudol has moved on from heartbreak and is rebuilding through self-deliberation.