The Pine Hearts – Back To Sustain
Self-released – 31 January 2020
I have yet to visit the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., but Back To Sustain might just be the ideal advert to entice me there. Formed in the shadows of Washington’s Cascade Mountains, The Pine Hearts are the brainchild of Joey Capoccia (acoustic guitar), who alongside bandmates Derek McSwain (mandolin) and Dean Shakked (upright bass), serve up a delicious smorgasbord of classic roots music, encompassing a range of styles, including alt-bluegrass, country, folk and indie-pop.
The concept for this, their fourth release, is straightforward – set up in a rustic community hall, The Property Grange Hall, Olympia, return to a few previously recorded songs, throw in an odd cover or two, take along an old 4-track Tascam cassette tape machine, together with vintage large-diaphragm microphones, and record ‘live’. The result – an exciting and energetic set that is guaranteed to entertain.
Lyrically, various subjects, and the resultant emotions induced, are addressed, love, loss, heartbreak, pain, depression, freedom and the chains that bind, but as with the best of writing, there is often ambiguity in the words and the images they describe, leaving ample space for the listener to interpret in their own way.
What is immediately apparent here is the immediacy and vitality of these new recordings, when compared, (where appropriate), to their previous outings, most notably the paring down of the arrangements. The title track, Back to Sustain, is thus shorn of its pedal steel and fiddle in its new airing. Similarly, from the same Carousel album, the uplifting Open Road now sounds like a completely different song, with emphasis of guitar and mandolin in place of banjo and fiddle. The actual recording also has a much more punchy sound, credit here must go to the group themselves for their recording and production, but also to Joey Seward at Left Field Studios for the mixing and mastering.
By You On The Bayou, one of two songs here from the group’s Thin Walls release, is as upliftingly a joyful love song as you could wish to hear. Evoking long summer nights under a cajun moon and stars, one can only imagine the reaction of the intended recipient of lines such as:
‘Even if heaven, was one of my choices
I wouldn’t choose it, over you’
The instrumental interplay between guitar and mandolin is dazzling, and the clarity of the upright-bass lines, so prominently high in the mix, is a revelation. This musical dexterity is certainly not a one-off; their consummate playing skills are prominent throughout, with Standing In The Corners being another particularly fine example.
Upbeat tempo cuts such as the out-and-out bluegrass of Good Luck By The Sea, and the tale of lost love which is The Heartache Or The Whiskey, are in contrast to the more muted Alright Fine and the moving, self-explanatory Living With Depression
‘I’ve gotten used to living with depression, feel them chains getting warm
I’ve gotten used to living with depression, found the reigns to have a little charm
It’s been a long, long vacant day
where going down feels like the only way’
With two covers on the release, the traditional Stealin’ and a fascinating interpretation of Tom Petty‘s Orphan Of the Storm, the trio show that they are more than adept at putting their own stamp upon the work of others. The group may, however, have pulled a masterstroke by having made Back to Sustain, one of their strongest compositions, the opening track of this release. From a simple beginning, the song builds and smoulders, vocals and instrumentation in perfect harmony, together with an infectious chorus, showcasing their talent from the get-go. It is difficult to believe that listeners to this track will not be ensnared and desperate to hear more.
As mentioned earlier, the production values throughout are superb. Such is the warmth and depth of the sound, close your eyes and it’s as if the group are performing live on your back porch, (or in my case patio). The Pine Hearts are obviously wholeheartedly serious about their craft, with this album they have admirably succeeded in paying dutiful respect to their tradition whilst at the same time imbibing the music with their own particular flavour. Back To Sustain showcases the very best in contemporary American roots music.
Watch them performing one of the tracks from the album ‘By You on the Bayou’ in the great outdoors: