The Pines - Sparrows in the Bell - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Famed music critic Dave Marsh said The Pines are Inchlike the great folk-rock bands of yesteryear... I didn't hear a better new band in 2008Inch and Q Magazine gave their debut CD SPARROWS IN THE BELL raves and 4 stars. Now the edgy alt-folk duo is back with an amazing follow up produced by the acclaimed producer Bo Ramsey. Based in the Twin Cities and steadily building a national following, The Pines are emerging as an important new voice in American roots music and we think this is their break-out recording. Album Tracks 1. Pray Tell 2. Heart & Bones 3. Shine on Moon 4. Lonesome Tremolo Blues 5. Meadows of Dawn 6. Skipper and His Wife 7. Spike Driver Blues 8. Behind the Time 9. Avenue of the Saints 10. Shiny Shoes

Above the Prairie arrives like a harvest moon over the Great Plains, a sonic palette stretching from the hard ground to the bright stars. The follow-up to 2012 s critically-acclaimed Dark So Gold, the album's distinctly Midwestern texture and song sensibility present 10 new originals exhibiting the lyrical richness, sweeping instrumentals, and darkly beautiful collaborations that have won the band fans worldwide. Recorded in Iowa and St. Paul, MN, Above the Prairie explores the space between the vastness of the plains and the interstellar world, exploring the isolated farms and small towns of the prairie and the dignity of those who choose to remain. A highlight is a haunting guest appearance by Native American legend John Trudell. Written and recorded in a matter of weeks, Above the Prairie is a journey from the Aerial Ocean to the hidden places. Where Something Wild Still Grows, from Villisca and Lost Nation all the way to Sleepy Hollow. With a beauty equally ominous and tender, The Pines have provided a sonic backdrop to the thin veil that separates our home on the land and our home in the cosmos. Album Tracks 1. Aerial Ocean 5 17 2. There in Spririt 4 02 3. Lost Nation 3 04 4. Hanging from the Earth 5 35 5. Here 3 58 6. Where Something Wild Still Grows 3 52 7. Sleepy Hollow 3 52 8. Villisca 3 10 9. Come What Is 3 22 10. Time Dreams 5 24

Dark is a good description for these alternative folk rockers. With an undercurrent of isolation and despair, The Pines are looking to make rural America menacingly cool. Album Tracks 1. Cry Cry Crow 2. If By Morning 3. All the While 4. Moonrise, Iowa 5. Rise Up and Be Lonely 6. Be There in Bells 7. Grace Hill 8. Chimes 9. Dead Feathers 10. Losing the Stars