Cinncinatti-based indie-psych group, In The Pines twists up their signature psychedelic sound into an atmosphere of fuzzy, distorted shoegaze. Recorded at Futureappletree Studio Too by engineer Patrick Stolley, their latest project "Painting By Numbers" showcases their sonic elevation.
Like taking a breath of fresh air on some mountainous trail after spending months in the city, In The Pines is a refreshing take on Shoegazey drift-and-stomp tunes similar to bands like Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Black Angels. They let the vibrations unfold on their latest project "Painting By Numbers", honing in on that autumnal tone Sharpied up with soaring hooks, translucent guitars, and a locked-in rhythm section.
Recorded in two sessions throughout July 2021 and March 2022, this album is the first to feature In The Pines most recent member Peter Foley on synthesizers, and guest vocalist Eva Patterson on the opening track “Threshold”. Psych rockers rejoice as the mixing maestro Dalton Allison of Post Animal had their hands in the sandbox. The mix of splashy synths, mind-expanding lyrics, and grooving leads will leave you tapping into that serenity and bliss you usually find alone out in nature.
We had the opportunity to catch up with In The Pines to chat about their latest ventures.
Q: How did In The Pines come together?
Alex: Charlie, Mike, and I (Alex) became good friends in high school. They were in a different band that would later become In The Pines. It wasn't until we all lived together in college that I eventually joined the band. There were a couple of people in and out along the way but the three of us always remained. We met our other guitarist Daniel through another Cincy band he plays in called Sylmar. Our synth player Peter, we met after he serviced a tape machine that we own. Now he's in the band and we all work together at his shop repairing vintage pro audio equipment!
Q: Are you all involved in the local DIY scene in Cincinnati? What's the local scene like? Any standout venues or bands to play with?
Alex: Yes, as much as possible. The way things work now we usually only play in town a couple of times a year, but we still have many friends throughout the scene and still get out to see other local shows pretty often. There's a lot of great bands! Check out Lung, Mol Sullivan, General Baxter, Spoils, Corker, and Sylmar. There are many but those are ones off the top of my head.
Q: In the Pines explores a lot of atmospheric and textured soundscapes, what's some of your favorite gear to experiment with?
Alex: Just about anything vintage! Our synth player Peter contributed so much to the atmosphere of the songs with his army of synthesizers. The record features an ARP 2600, an Oberheim OBX, a Prophet 5, and a Juno 60 just to name a few. The icing on the cake is running any one of those synths through a Roland SRE 555 Chorus Echo.
Q: How did you all create the visuals for your latest single "Let It Slide"?
Alex: Pretty sure a lot of that is
AI-generated.
Q: How did the recording process for "Painting By Numbers" compare to previous projects? How'd the cover art come about?
Alex: We actually recorded PBN at the same studio as the previous record (futureappletree studio too). The only major difference being we used a 16-track tape machine instead of the 8-track machine for "Impossible Daze". We needed every bit of those 16 tracks! This album is much more dense sonically and the extra tracks allowed us to experiment with multiple guitar tracks (acoustic & electric), synths, and even drum machines blended with live drums. Even with 16 tracks we had to get creative at times but we felt working within that limitation made the songs better in the end.
Q: Any plans for the rest of the year? What are you excited about for 2024?
Alex: We just had a huge album release show in Cincy. No other shows on the books for 2023 but we're gearing up for 2024 dates so be on the lookout! We're most excited to keep releasing new music in 2024. We have another album currently in the mixing process and have already begun writing another one on top of that.
Stay Tuned: