At first, In the Pines was noteworthy for its novel lineup -- acoustic guitars, four-part vocals, loping drumbeats, a 1940s pump organ and violins. The band's mournful-to-brutal dynamic was enough to turn heads. But we're past that now, and the good news is that the songs are holding up under scrutiny. "Savannah," in particular, which the band recently made available for a listen on its MySpace page, shows the Pines at full strength, both musically and emotionally. The song holds a beautiful kind of unhappiness, a wistful longing for death that's transmitted in singer and guitarist Brad Hodgson's voice when he sings, over a simple acoustic riff, When I die, when I die/Please, please take care of my wife/When I die, when I die/It'll be the end of the hardest life. The song's not overwrought and is thus deceptively simple; you have to wonder how much work the band put into it. After all, sounding like you've lived through the Great Depression and lost several children along the way -- that takes some doing. Look for the band's long-awaited debut this November.
like
dislike
