Music Reviews

White Pines

Is Passed in Sleep; At Night He Hunts

Jumberlack Media

With its 2009 EP, A Face Made of Wood, Joseph Scott’s White Pines project laid some serious claim to contemporary backwoods folk territory. It was a more modest, slightly more psychedelic counterpoint to Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago. As a stop-gap between that release and an upcoming full-length, Scott has put together the Is Passed in Sleep; At Night He Hunts 7″.

Although the record is composed of only two songs, it’s a stellar example of Scott’s evolution in sound. Of the two, “Gather the Children” is the more traditional take on the folk genre. It’s full of pluck-and-strummed acoustic guitar and earnest vocals, but Scott laces it with with a mandolin on heavy reverb and some great doo-wop harmonies. It’s a great piece of unaffected folk-pop. The flipside, “Name As Son,” however, is the true revelation. Built around sleigh bells, glockenspiel, and a monolithic bass line, this is White Pines’ first trip into the wending river of freak folk. Scott’s dual vocal harmonies recall some of the darker, more glorious moments of Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds. The song builds slowly, with more sounds being introduced and coalescing to form an atmosphere of a pagan ritual. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Hopefully, this track signals a tipping of the scales for White Pines down the more experimental alleys of folk. If nothing else, this single whets the appetite for Scott’s future material, whatever form it may take.

Jumberlack Media: www.jumberlackmedia.com


Recently on Ink 19...

Rampo Noir

Rampo Noir

Screen Reviews

Phil Bailey reviews Rampo Noir, a four part, surreal horror anthology film based on the works of Japan’s horror legend, Edogawa Rampo.

Garage Sale Vinyl: Eddie Money

Garage Sale Vinyl: Eddie Money

Garage Sale Vinyl

In this latest installment of his popular weekly series, Christopher Long finds himself dumpster diving at a groovy music joint in Oklahoma City, where he scores a bagful of treasure for UNDER $20 — including a well-cared-for $3 vinyl copy of Life for the Taking, the platinum-selling 1978 sophomore set from Eddie Money.

Incubus

Incubus

Screen Reviews

Both bold experiment and colossal failure in the 1960s, Esperanto language art house horror film Incubus returns with pre-_Star Trek_ William Shatner to claim a perhaps more serious audience.