Tab_gaz_com Tab_kcrg_com

Categorized | Music

Iowa natives The Pines return to CSPS

SourceMedia Group Copyright 2011 SourceMedia Group. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

by Carly Weber  ::  UPDATED: 1 February 2012 | 12:51 pm  ::  in Music  ::  No Comments

The Pines

Iowa natives and David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey celebrate the release of their new CD, “Dark So Gold,” at CSPS this week. The new release features a distinct blend of atmospheric indie-folk, rock and blues. Twin Cities musician Mason Jennings (who will be at The Englert in April) said the CD “has more in common with a great novel or book of poetry than it does with most music being made today.”

“Dark So Gold” follows the release of 2009’s radio-charting “Tremolo,” highlighted in PopMatters and CMT.com as one of the top Americana albums of the year.

“These Minneapolis-via-Iowa boys pick delicate acoustic guitars wrapped in glass-slide reverberations and haunting organ embellishments,” PopMatters writes. “The CD captures a spectral effect throughout, evoking an otherworldly landscape of fallen moons and dead valleys, campfires and ghost towns …”

Huckfelt and Ramsey are two Iowans who met in a Mexican barrio in Arizona and then moved to Minneapolis to hone their haunting Americana sound. Together they craft original songs that evoke the ancient while incorporating newer rock and pop grooves. Ramsey learned from his dad, Iowa roots music legend Bo Ramsey, that a musician’s guiding light should always be the song. “The music comes first,” Ramsey says. “The world is scary and it’s crazy, and when things get crazy and hard, just hold the music. Keep it close.”

The new album shows a young band that has fully arrived, with a sound and song craft that stand apart on the indie music landscape. Frontmen Ramsey (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Huckfelt (vocals, acoustic guitar) are now joined by an expanded seven-piece band that includes Alex Ramsey (keyboards, vocals), J.T. Bates (drums), James Buckley (bass), Michael Rossetto (banjo) and Jacob Hanson (guitar).

From the haunting opening track, “Cry, Cry, Crow,” The Pines conjure rural specters from the farms slowly disappearing throughout their native Midwest. Exploring the tension between city and small town and the loneliness that can exist in both, they move through breakups and new beginnings on songs like “If By Morning,” “All the While,” “Dead Feathers” and the radio-friendly “Chimes.” Whether rocking out (“Rise Up and Be Lonely”) or playing contemplative instrumentals (“Moonrise, IA” and “Losing the Stars”), The Pines cook up a diverse palette of musical flavors and songs that reflect on cold days, dark nights and the hope that shines in between.

LISTEN UP

  • WHAT: The Pines CD release show
  • WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday (2/4)
  • WHERE: CSPS, 1103 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids
  • DETAILS: (319) 364-1580, Legionarts.org
  • COST: $11 advance, $15 door
  • BONUS SHOW: The Pines will also play at 8 p.m. Friday (2/3) at Cafe Paradiso, 101 N. Main St., Fairfield.

comments