Search - Pinetop Seven :: Nights Bloom

You're smarter now, doesn't that count for anything

Rhys Wade | Sonoma, CA USA | 03/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a very difficult time finding music I like anymore. Call it aging or lack of exposure, it just seems to be a fact of life. One of the few recent releases I really, really loved was Pinetop Seven's Bringing Home the Last Great Strike. This CD rarely left my player for months on end. Then I noticed that it had been released in 2000, and so I went online with great trepidation, trying to find more recent releases and was disappointed to find there were none. Just my luck once again, I find something I like and the band breaks up. So I was overjoyed when I found out that they had a new release after five years of nothing. Now all I had to worry was that they had lost their mojo.



Not to worry. The Night's Bloom is even better. The arrangements are lush, yet spare, with a moody beauty. Darren Richards is in top form as a vocalist and songwriter. Lyrically, we get hints of what may have been going on for the last five years (and it is not a heartwarming story for the kids), but I'm only guessing here. There is a tone of moral ambiguity and corruption, perhaps best shown in Fringe (track 3), which tells the story of a young girl led astray. The first two choruses end with the line: 'And a girl's education begins' with the final chorus ending: 'You're smarter now, doesn't that count for anything'



If you like anything that is currently popular, this may not be for you. If you love music that is so personal that it crosses all borders, please buy this. These guys deserve a wider audience."

In from the cold

gonzobrarian | 07/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think it's ironic that while Pinetop Seven have decided build on "Bringing Home the Last Great Strike" with an increased effort of instrumentals within their songs, it's funny that the soundtrack pieces on "The Night's Bloom" don't quite stand up those in "Last Great Strike" or in "Rigging the Toplights", in my opinion. Maybe it's because this album isn't as cohesive as the previous two, but that doesn't mean it's not a great album. In fact, it's probably just as good, although I'm hesitant to say it's better. "Last Great Strike" is, in a word, haunting. The Night's Bloom" is a slight emergence from this theme, yet very enjoyable.



I see this record as an attempt by the band to thaw the coldness, the eerie feeling of prior albums. While the hardness of life can be found throughout the album, there is also the nagging, frustrating and sometimes upbeat sentiment that "it's just a joke...get over it friend." It's good advice, as this is an album to spend time by careful listening. Perhaps it's the band telling me to get over my fascination with their prior work. In any case, I think this is fine album and I'm looking forward to listening "Beneath Confederate Lake"."