Land Of Pines apparently began life as a two-piece with only a car battery to power their music-making equipment. They are now a fully fledged indie rock band with a luscious sound comprising of guitars, a well-developed rhythm section and energetic male-female vocals.
Their new EP, The Long Defeat, due out on 21st May, is pop music from the indie rock world; simultaneously playful and serious, this is catchy and passionate music that would be equally enjoyable heard alone through headphones as in a packed gig. The opening track ‘Scotch Broom’ begins with ominously heavy guitars, reminiscent of Manchester Orchestra, before skipping into life and becoming something along the lines of Todd Goldstein’s ARMS meets the Foo Fighters. Across the five tracks the vocals trade back and forth between male and female, adding a nice variety with proceedings while still allowing the band’s style and sound to remain evident. It’s not always easy to maintain a cohesive sound when swapping between vocalists on a short release but here it sounds natural, they have pulled off with expertise.
The EP was recorded by Martin Feveyear who has worked with acts like Kings of Leon and Girls (not to mention blog favourite Damien Jurado), so Land Of Pines are certainly aiming high. I think it’s fair to let these guys finish college before expecting too much, but this EP is certainly strong and bodes well for things to come.
You can pre-order The Long Defeat from the good folks over at Fin Records, on beautiful blue-and-bone splatter vinyl. The release is limited to 500 so get in quick before the May 21st release date. On the note of releases, if you find yourself in Seattle at the beginning of May then get tickets for the release show at The Vera Project on May 4th.