A Fine Frenzy, the professional stage name of indie singer-songwriter Alison Sudol, released her third album, “Pines,” this week, three years after 2009’s “Bomb in a Birdcage.” For those wondering who exactly A Fine Frenzy is, you’ll most likely know her from the 2007 song “Almost Lover,” the haunting ballad punctuated with heavy piano that got many a teen through her high school break-ups.

However, you won’t find a song quite like that on “Pines.” A much more conceptual album than her previous efforts (she has said that the LP tells a story combining the double-meaning of the word “pine”—both the tree and the idea of longing for something), it is full of natural imagery and softer touches. The majority of the songs rely on calming melodies that swell with gently plucked guitars and dainty xylophones and break in a wash of cymbals. There are diversions from the formula, though; the sinister tones of “Winds of Wander” or the phantom like echoing vocals of “Riversong.” She even strays toward Joanna Newsom territory among the harps and saccharine vocals of “Dream in the Dark.”

One thing that remains consistent throughout the twists and turns among the subdued and hushed landscape that the album paints are Alison Sudol’s vocals. Her idiosyncratic voice, charming even in its wobble and strain, almost floats above the panorama of instruments, rising and fracturing just as the melodies do, lending a quiet introspection to the restrained mood of most of the album.

Unexpectedly, the pace starts to pick up as the album comes to a close, with the one-two punch of “It’s Alive” and first single “Now Is The Start” proving to be the most enjoyable and uplifting nine minutes of the album. Bringing in irresistibly poppy synths, catchy handclap beats and bright lyrics (“It’s the sound of the lost gone found/It’s the sound of a mute gone loud/It’s the sound of a new start”), the songs are like the sunrise over the foggy and grey pine forest. While both sides of “Pines” may be enjoyable in different respects, ultimately, the later and more upbeat part of the album is where Sudol’s musicality and melodious vocals shine most.