Pinetop Seven...

I've been a bit off the back with posts the last few days so apologies to all whose days revolve around reading posts here (I think that may pretty much include my mom). I'll try to be back on the boat with more frequent posts this week. So here we are with an infrequent Monday post but it's a good one. I raved about Pinetop Seven and their Americana tinged epic The Night's Bloom last year and I still find that record to be a strong point of 2005. Darren Richard is the heart and soul of Pinetop Seven as he plays most of the instruments and writes all the songs. He has a firm grasp on the sound of traditional American music but don't let that conjure up images of toothless porchbillies plucking at banjos (not that there's anything wrong with that) or Garth Brooks-esque singers bastardizing a traditional sound into a political movement (there is something wrong with that). Richard's vision is far more sweeping and epic. He thinks and develops his songs on very broad canvas that can easily touch jazz, country, soundtrack, pop and rock. So here comes Richard and company with an addendum to The Night's Bloom called Beneath Confederate Lake. I suppose it fits the EP category onlyl because it's not a proper album of brand new material. Some of these songs have been floating around Richard's head for awhile, some are from soundtracks he's written for, some are leftovers from The Night's Bloom sessions. In the same that Will Scheff added the Black Sheep Boy Appendix to last year's Black Sheep Boy Beneath Confederate Lake seems to act as a clearinghouse for Richard, a way for him to clear out the ideas that didn't fit with his last project. Don't interpret this record as a bunch of throwaways. Beneath Confederate Lake is as strong and engaging as anything released thus far in 2006. Richard has an undeniable talent that deserves a far wider recognition. If you loved The Night's Bloom then this record is a must have and while The Night's Bloom is clearly your best starting point for Pinetop Seven's sound you won't go wrong in picking this up first. A strong, beautiful set of songs.

1 song from Beneath Confederate Lake:

The Western Ash