The very existence of this band, which consists of four alternative-rock elders and two classical-music students, gives hope to music fans who are ready for the Kansas City rock scene to evolve away from the garage, the mall and the pentagram and toward the realm of art. Seeing In the Pines live is like watching the rustic-pop equivalent of a parlor drama by Chekhov or O'Neill. Spreading the vocals among four singers and crafting unique lines for each instrument (pump organ, violin, viola, two guitars, bass and drums), the Pines escalate through each song into a crashing tragedy as eerie and alluring as a dark corner of a forest on a snowy evening. But it's not all mystifying and complex -- this band has solid songwriting skills, led by the playful heart and worrisome mind of leader Brad Hodgson, wherein Leadbelly and Leonard Cohen finally meet.
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