In the early 2000s, Scattered Trees enjoyed a devout following in the Chicago indie pop scene, gaining a reputation as one of the city's most promising up-and-coming acts. Over the years, however, the five members who'd all been friends since long before the band's inception, began to live up to their name and scatter to various cities around the country, putting Scattered Trees on an indefinite hiatus around 2008. The following year, lead singer/songwriter Nate Eiesland's father died, which led him to begin writing songs again and attempt to piece the band back together. As a result, Scattered Trees reformed in 2011 to record Sympathy, a new album that again documents the band's knack for crafting heartstring-tugging and often grandly-orchestrated indie pop.
