Customer Reviews

Nights Bloom

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a very difficult time finding music I like anymore. Call it aging or lack of exposure, it just seems to be a fact of life. One of the few recent releases I really, really loved was Pinetop Seven's Bringing Home the Last Great Strike. This CD rarely left my player for months on end. Then I noticed that it had been released in 2000, and so I went online with great trepidation, trying to find more recent releases and was disappointed to find there were none. Just my luck once again, I find something I like and the band breaks up. So I was overjoyed when I found out that they had a new release after five years of nothing. Now all I had to worry was that they had lost their mojo.

Not to worry. The Night's Bloom is even better. The arrangements are lush, yet spare, with a moody beauty. Darren Richards is in top form as a vocalist and songwriter. Lyrically, we get hints of what may have been going on for the last five years (and it is not a heartwarming story for the kids), but I'm only guessing here. There is a tone of moral ambiguity and corruption, perhaps best shown in Fringe (track 3), which tells the story of a young girl led astray. The first two choruses end with the line: 'And a girl's education begins' with the final chorus ending: 'You're smarter now, doesn't that count for anything'

If you like anything that is currently popular, this may not be for you. If you love music that is so personal that it crosses all borders, please buy this. These guys deserve a wider audience.

Perhaps the closest Pinetop Seven has come to mainstream attention came in 2005 when "Witness", a cut from their album "The Night's Bloom", appeared on a PASTE Magazine sampler disc. A year later, National Public Radio featured a track from rarities compilation "Beneath Confederate Lake" on their "Song of the Day" segment.

Though popular success has eluded Pinetop Seven, the band has been immensely active in the Chicago music scene since at least the mid-nineties. Mid-Western Americana is perhaps the most apt genre description of the band's work, as their rustic sound is reminicent of a film score to a dark, moody Western.

Their eponymous debut displayed a firm grasp of the Western genre, replete with a cover depicting a bristling battle between two gunslingers. "Tennessee Pride", with its ominously foreboding amble, is the final and best track on the record. The track could be seamlessly placed in an episode of Deadwood...in fact, I'm surprised none of the band's work was enlisted for use in the HBO program.

Sophomore record "Rigging the Toplights" is unquestionably Pinetop Seven's finest work to date. The album features "Drying Out", a song that could possibly induce tears from the dismal tone alone - add to that aching lyrics such as "The winter here has not been kind", and you have a simply sublime piece of work.

Their latest LP, "The Night's Bloom", displays dramatic creative growth - particularly in tracks like "Born Among the Born Again". A supporting banjo has never been utilized so masterfully, I would argue, as in this album. "Witness" is another standout, once again featuring haunting lyrics that remain with you long after the track is over.

Though "The Night's Bloom" is the most accessible record Pinetop Seven has made yet, and I can assure the curious that all their records are worth exploring...take your time!

PINETOP SEVEN DISCOGRAPHY:

Pinetop Seven (1997 LP)

No Breath in the Bellows (1998 EP)

Rigging the Toplights (1998 LP)

Bringing Home the Last Great Strike (2000 LP)

Lest We Forget (2001 Rarities Compilation)

The Night's Bloom (2005 LP)

Beneath Confederate Lake (2006 Rarities Compilation)

I think it's ironic that while Pinetop Seven have decided build on "Bringing Home the Last Great Strike" with an increased effort of instrumentals within their songs, it's funny that the soundtrack pieces on "The Night's Bloom" don't quite stand up those in "Last Great Strike" or in "Rigging the Toplights", in my opinion. Maybe it's because this album isn't as cohesive as the previous two, but that doesn't mean it's not a great album. In fact, it's probably just as good, although I'm hesitant to say it's better. "Last Great Strike" is, in a word, haunting. The Night's Bloom" is a slight emergence from this theme, yet very enjoyable.

I see this record as an attempt by the band to thaw the coldness, the eerie feeling of prior albums. While the hardness of life can be found throughout the album, there is also the nagging, frustrating and sometimes upbeat sentiment that "it's just a joke...get over it friend." It's good advice, as this is an album to spend time by careful listening. Perhaps it's the band telling me to get over my fascination with their prior work. In any case, I think this is fine album and I'm looking forward to listening "Beneath Confederate Lake".

Like all their albums, this album is a pretty amazing example of composition and musicianship. Pinetop Seven create a mood of melancholy sadness with their music that is very absorbing. I liken them to Scud Mountain Boys and Sin Ropas (let me know if you check these bands out!), who also have that retro Old South/Wild West thing going. A few of the songs on this album reminded me of Sufjan Stevens, which was weird. Nevertheless, I liked this album as much as their earlier albums.

The previous Pinetop albums are very good, often exceptional, but Night's Bloom makes a leap into the realm of wonderful. Gorgeous melodies, amazing vocals, intricate instrumentation, exquisite production...clearly a lot of work and talent that really pays off. Lyrically still a little too dark for my taste; nonetheless, a listening treat of depth and beauty.

In retrospect I would say this was 2005's best album. One of the best of the whole alt-country genre.

This is an absolute masterpiece from Darren Richard and co! Longtime fans of the band will not be disappointed and this is sure to win over some new fans as well. I can't wait until the companion record - Beneath Confederate Lake - is released this month! A+ - highly recommended!

Algunos discos de heavy o de dance llevan un aviso que recomienda escucharlos a todo volumen. Por razones muy diferentes, "The Night's Bloom", el quinto trabajo de Pinetop Seven, deberia llevar tambien ese mensaje.

Fundado en 1996 en Chicago, Pinetop Seven es un colectivo liderado por el cantante, compositor y multiinstrumentista Darren Richard, creado con una mision: reelaborar la musica popular americana, tomando elementos de diversas tradiciones (europea, asiatica, clasica) y mezclandolos con folk, country y blues. Por el grupo han pasado mas de veinte componentes, entre ellos futuros miembros de Bright Eyes y Wilco.

En "The Night's Bloom", los Pinetop Seven utilizan una extensa paleta de sonidos, con instrumentos tan variados como marimba, vibrafono, metales, acordeon, melodica, banjo, piano de juguete y cuerdas, entre muchos otros. El resultado es una fascinante, majestuosa y cinematica mezcla de country, jazz, pop orquestral, rock y folk, con influencias que van desde los cantautores a las bandas sonoras de Angelo Badalamenti y Nino Rota. Un sonido elegante y bello, esplendido en canciones como "Easy Company", "Born Among The Born Again", "A Mouthful Of Expensive Teeth", o "A Page From The Desert".

Para los que se queden con ganas de mas, en abril Pinetop Seven edito "Beneath Confederate Lake", una coleccion de material inedito, la mayora procedente de las sesiones de "The Night's Bloom".

Man this album is so freaking rad! I would have to say it's a little happier than their previous recordings, but hell that never hurt anyone. My only complaint is that he doesnt use his falsetto at all on this record and hes got such a bad ass head voice. The string arrangements are sweet and It's deffinatley their best recording yet. Damn it just get it!