The Pines Bring Hauntingly Beautiful/Seductive Soundscapes on ‘Above the Prairie’ (INTERVIEW)

There are any number of bands that tout their allegiance to the heartland these days, but far fewer that can claim to have actually had their roots planted in those fertile environs. However, for those who have, there’s a certain honesty and assurance that’s gleaned from the values and purity instilled in those who have grown up in those realms. One such group who knows those sensibilities all too well is the The Pines, an unassuming acoustic trio whose musical vision carries a distinctively upward gaze. Over the course of five immaculately crafted albums, they’ve distinguished themselves through a supple blend of ambiance and introspection, resulting in some of the most sumptuous sounds offered by any outfit in recent memory.

Helmed by singer/guitarist David Huckfelt, singer/guitarist/keyboard player Benson Ramsey and singer/pianist Alex Ramsey — the latter two Ramseys being the sons of the band’s erstwhile producer Bo Ramsey — The Pines recently released the best album of their brief but fertile career, the descriptively titled Above the Prairie. Hauntingly beautiful, it offers a series of shimmering, seductive soundscapes that effectively convey other-worldly imagery, a sound that’s practically dream-like and cloaked in a nocturnal sheen. Highly praised by the pundits, it may be the album to ensure The Pines move into a larger sphere.

“We have a philosophy that music and life are one and the same,” Huckfelt explains. “We’re incapable of forcing anything, even though we’ve tried. We’ve always been wide open to new music, to poetry… and we pay attention to what’s going on in the news. So when we get together, and we have a song or two that feels really gelled, then we know it’s time for a new record. A vision takes place around it in a burst, but it takes a long time for that burst to come about. We see The Pines as a big tent that allows the three of us to fit under its canopy and not exclude any part of what we like or what we do. We try to create a little bit of space in a hectic world. That’s essentially where the songs are coming from.”

Even so, Huckfelt readily admits that music with such a quiet and subtle allure isn’t always the best contender for more widespread appeal. As he readily concedes, today’s music business is dominated by garish, flashy posers who employ outrageous gimmicks and gaudy costumes to seize some headlines and climb their way up the charts.

“We take it on the chin for having that pensive approach,” Huckfelt allows. “The music business is kind of like a train running down one track and all you have to do is get to the left or to the right, and the whole thing runs right by you. We don’t want to put the kind of songs out in the world that are taking something from somebody. We want to put out songs that are actually giving something to people. A lot of today’s songs feel like advertisements or commercials that are out to steal your money and steal your time. We try to give the listener a little bit of a respite, because that’s what we’re looking for too… a place to call home, or a way to feel at home inside ourselves. We’ve taken ourselves out of the rat race by trying to make music that we love and the kind of music that we want to put out in the world. Hopefully, there’s not just one road as far as the music business is concerned.”

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That cinematic sweep has gained them entry into some smaller independent film soundtracks, something Huckfelt says they’re open to doing more of in the future. However he also insists that their songwriting process isn’t necessarily set in stone. “It’s not so much about intention as it is about exploration,” he suggests. “We might add ten layers to a song and then strip it back to two or three once we find out what it’s asking for. Its like a conversation with the song. We need a little breath here, a little space there.”

Ironically, The Pines initially came together, not in their native Iowa, but rather in Tucson Arizona. “We literally ran into each other on the street and realized we were from the same place, ““Huckfelt recalls of the meeting between him and Benson. The two began picking out blues and folk standards on their guitars and eventually decided to return to the Midwest, eventually setting up shop in Minneapolis. A signing to Red House Records followed soon after, shortly before Benson’s brother Alex joined the band.

Asked what it is about the Midwest that breeds such striking sounds — it’s also claims such notable talents as Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey and Connor Oberst after all — Huckfelt offers an easy explanation. “It’s home to the Mississippi River and many people believe that the south actually begins in southern Iowa. You have this patient perspective. Things kind of drift in from the coast, and so the hot new thing kind of gets filtered through there a bit. In Iowa you can kind of take your time with it. There’s a spaciousness to living there, a quietness that allows for a certain kind of song-writing and observation. Blues and folk music are big influences in those rural settings. It’s kind of like a lookout tower in the middle of the country from which people can see what’s going on.”

It’s little wonder then that Huckfelt expresses satisfaction with the band’s trajectory. “I think that one part of it has been about the shedding of expectations,” he suggests. “When you start out, you have a lot of expectations as to what you’re supposed to do. So as we’ve grown into each record, we feel the freedom to put whatever we want on them because it feels right to us. In some ways it’s a feeling of confidence, but in other ways, it’s just not giving a shit about what people expect of you. We’ve developed our sound in several directions — in both a spacious direction and in an intimate direction, and we’ve taken those approaches further with each new record. Benson said once that as the world tends to get louder, we tend to get quieter. We realize it’s not going to be everybody’s cup of tea and not everybody’s going to respond to the music because it doesn’t hit you over the head. But when I compare quality versus quantity, I feel these songs come from a very deep place, and if you’re open to it, you can find something to relate to.”

It was in that spirit that the band invited the late Native American poet and activist John Trudell to contribute to the final song of the album, the profoundly moving and mystical “Time Dreams.” Trudell, who passed away this past December provides a spoken narrative that seals the song’s quiet embrace. Huckfelt first met him while visiting the Pine Ridge reservation ten years ago and had a chance to see Trudell speak. They met him later after one of his speaking engagements in Minneapolis.

“His philosophical world view sank in so deeply to me and Benson, and that became a big influence on the way we see the world. His perspective was so singular. I think he was on the short, short list of people the government and the corporate world didn’t want people to know about, because of the things he had to say. After we brought him back to Minneapolis to do a show, he was the one who suggested we collaborate on a song. We wrote the music and he came up with the lyrics and he loved what we had done with his words. When it came time to make the record, we managed to get it recorded, even though he wasn’t well by that time. It’s a tribute to him, a reflection of our love and respect, and we’re just honored that we could do it. Our whole goal was to have him like it, and it was clear that he did. I think about him every single day.”

Huckfelt pauses and reflects. “There are times when we’ve opened shows for people like Emmylou Harris and Mavis Staples, people who have devoted their lives to making music and bringing people together,” he muses. “It’s not an easy thing to do and itt’s certainly not as glamorous as it looks. Those are the moments when we feel like we’re in the company of people who have cleared the path for us, and that’s always such a special feeling. We feel such gratitude, and if we can contribute to that conversation and the way the music gets passed on, it’s a huge honor.”

 

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