Alison Sudol, better known as A Fine Frenzy.
Alison Sudol of A Fine Frenzy doesn't believe she makes a good pop star.
"You won't find me out in a club. I'm a bit unruly, in my own way," says Sudol, 27. "I won't do the same thing over and over again. I do love to dance, and that's fun, but I will never stop writing my quiet, sensitive songs."
In spite of her better judgment, she almost became one. "Almost Lover," an emotionally devastated piano ballad from "One Cell in the Sea," her 2007 debut, became a surprise hit in Eastern Europe. "Bomb in a Birdcage," the follow-up album, contained at least two songs — the slow-burning breakup number "Happier" and the sultry "Electric Twist" — that, in a world just a few degrees smarter than our own, would have been chart-toppers.
On "Pines," her third album as A Fine Frenzy (the name, a reference to Shakespeare, is, like much of Sudol's project, pulled from literature), she's leaving nothing to chance. The ambitious new set has nothing on it resembling contemporary pop. Many of these ethereal compositions float well past the five minute mark. Some songs don't bother with choruses at all; instead they drift, swell, and surge like water pulled by tidal forces. Tracks have lengthy, near-ambient intros and outros, and Sudol, the possessor of one of the most radiant voices in pop, sings much of the album in a reverent near-whisper.
"I've stopped worrying," says Sudol, who will perform at Best Buy Theatre in Manhattan on Monday night, about her prospects for commercial success. "There's a certain amount of pressure that you get from being a popular artist, and I think in the past I put a lot of pressure on myself, too. But I always knew that writing hits wasn't really my strong suit.
"This was the first time in my life when I didn't limit myself. I went into territory that scared me a whole lot. I really took my time with 'Pines.' I wanted to believe, and think, and concentrate, and craft, and make sure I knew what I wanted to say."
She's also reinforcing her message in other mediums. Sudol has written a book and made a short film based on the story of "Pines." The fable, which Sudol developed before she wrote any of the music for the album, follows a pine tree that is granted the gift (or curse) of volition and mobility. The wandering pine character affords the Seattle-born singer-songwriter the opportunity to foreground her environmentalism and love for the natural world. And while nothing on "Pines" is as overtly confessional as "Almost Lover," Sudol insists that this set is, in its misty way, an allegorical autobiography.
"This is definitely my most personal album," says Sudol. "'Pines' allowed me to go into other areas of my life that I hadn't sung about on my other albums — not just romantic heartbreak, but feelings of isolation, and looking for somewhere to belong."
Sudol is aware that a moody concept album about an animate tree is a tricky sell in 2012, especially since downloadable MP3s have made listeners less inclined to listen for long stretches. Still, she believes that if her fans are willing to put the time in, they'll find "Pines" rewarding. And she doesn't mind thumbing her nose at conventional wisdom.
"I do have faith in people in a way that a lot of people say you shouldn't have faith in people," says Sudol, who is a fine pianist as well as an electrifying singer. "Listening to whole albums is just one part of it. I have faith in people's hearts and people's loyalty.
"I know this is a record that you have to give time. It's not instantaneous. You have to sit and listen, close your eyes and stop for a minute. Also, I know it might make people feel things that they're uncomfortable feeling, because it goes into tricky territory."
Those accustomed to fantasy literature, however, should be on firm footing. Sudol has always been vocal about her admiration of children's classics, and many of her songs have echoed the themes — and channeled some of the magic — of those books. She doesn't return much to those stories these days, because she's reluctant to dispel the feeling she associates with her favorites. But she admits that she recently re-read C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe," and found herself captivated all over again.
"I went back to C.S. Lewis really hesitantly," says Sudol, "and sure enough, midway through, I was taken away. Like Tolkien, it's a whole world he created.
"That's what I've always wanted to do."
A Fine Frenzy, with Joshua Radin and Madi Diaz
Where: Best Buy Theater, 1515 Broadway at 44th St., New York
When: Monday, 7 p.m.
How much: $29.50; call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com