"you built a house of sand that fell apart through your hands"
Pine Barons' art rock affair Colette from the onset feels so incredibly rich. Dense with a sense of whimsy, a sense of fantasy, of stepping into a musical kaleidoscope. Keith Abrams' effected vox, like something from a vintage overseas phone-line while another voice that feels like the false Wizard of Oz (behind the curtain) adds to the fable-esque vibe. You feel like you might be in some world that is both vintage and futuristic. It is a heady mix that you will probably play three or four times in a row to absorb it fully. For some reason the iconic ELO came to mind and secondarily, the Killers, although I must say that Pine Barons (who are based out of Philadelphia) feel like a grand successor to the Killers (at least on this song). They sound like what the Killers should of become. Maybe I shouldn't have written these words but it is what I am feeling at the moment.
Colette is the first peek of Pine Barons' upcoming sophomore album, "Mirage on the Meadow" and while I do not have a drop date yet, I have Abrams' (lead songwriter) words about the song:
"Looking back, Colette feels like a response to the rest of the songs on the album. It wasn't initially intended for this record, because it was written in a separate chapter of my life. But I think it was ultimately the missing link. Or like a bridge to something new and fresh for me. To me, it's the most optimistic of all the songs on the record. I made the structure for Colette by chopping up a voice memo of Brad and I playing an organ together at band practice. From there, the rest just spilled out naturally, and without much thought. The name Colette just came out with the timbre of the melody I was writing. "I Dreamed A Dream" is one of my favorite songs, sung by Fantine, the mother of the character Cosette in Les Miserables and during the era of writing this record, I had probably listened to it hundreds of times, sometimes on repeat for hours. Like I wanted it to fail to move me, just once. I think the record, as a whole, brings about themes of feeling like you're running out of time, longing for love, and being afraid of death, but Colette sort of feels free from these sorts of things, and is maybe more enlightened or something.”
If you are like me, Colette will make you smile in a big way. It is an amazing tease, entree to an album I, now, want to hear very badly. I imagine that "Mirage on the Meadow" will be one of those guilty pleasure escapist albums with deep narratives and poetry full of passion, desire and unanswerable questions. Pine Barons, please don't let me down.
Pine Barons are Keith Abrams (Vocals / Guitar / Mellotron / Synth), Brad Pulley (Guitar / Organ), Alex Beebe (Mellotron / Organ), James Tierney (Bass) and Alex Held (Drums).
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Born among the pitch pines of southern New Jersey, Pine Barons is a project that came to fruition as friends gathered around campfires in the nature-rich environments of their hometowns. The band’s beginnings can be traced back to the members getting to know their instruments in their parents’ basements as well as outdoors, adventuring around, exploring an eclectic and intimate palette of punk, jazz and experimental rock.
The band’s debut LP, The Acchin Book (released in 2017), possessed a unique quality from the auxiliary instruments and recording techniques used; feathered paper dragged across paintings, field recordings in the woods at night, accordion, string arrangements and bowed guitars all contributing to the various moods and textures of the record.
It was praised by Consequence of Sound who said: “their complex arrangements echo the type of perplexing subject matter at hand, and their metaphorical lyricism sees them evoking a world beyond reality in hopes of finding the right answers”.
“Colette” serves as a teaser for what’s to come on Pine Barons’ forthcoming sophomore album, Mirage on the Meadow, and is a striking, eerie piece of art that pulls of equal influence from the films of Ari Aster and the musical Les Miserables — a psychedelic amalgamation of graveyard shifting indie rock.
Keith Abrams is a frequent collaborator of The Districts and co-produced their last record, You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere; Pine Barons has also toured with The Districts on several occasions.
The band’s debut LP, The Acchin Book (released in 2017), possessed a unique quality from the auxiliary instruments and recording techniques used; feathered paper dragged across paintings, field recordings in the woods at night, accordion, string arrangements and bowed guitars all contributing to the various moods and textures of the record.
It was praised by Consequence of Sound who said: “their complex arrangements echo the type of perplexing subject matter at hand, and their metaphorical lyricism sees them evoking a world beyond reality in hopes of finding the right answers”.
“Colette” serves as a teaser for what’s to come on Pine Barons’ forthcoming sophomore album, Mirage on the Meadow, and is a striking, eerie piece of art that pulls of equal influence from the films of Ari Aster and the musical Les Miserables — a psychedelic amalgamation of graveyard shifting indie rock.
Keith Abrams is a frequent collaborator of The Districts and co-produced their last record, You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere; Pine Barons has also toured with The Districts on several occasions.
No comments:
Post a Comment