Artist Spotlight

Heart of Pine Release New Music

I admire any band willing to balance retro musical attributes, cross-genre interplay, and evergreen lyrical concerns in an increasingly fragmented entertainment world. Heart of Pine takes those chances, and they pay off handsomely. The band’s slender discography is as solid as they come. Their 2019 full-length debut Highly Flammable had that exact effect.

It exhibited strengths so pronounced that it lit the band’s forward trajectory for the coming years and spawned even greater, yet condensed, success with its EP follow-up 2020’s Southedelic. Anchored by the songwriting team of Steven Bagwell and Travis Richardson, the band’s sophomore full-length Southern Soul Revival continues developing the band’s songwriting chops with the aid of a top-flight band, including the talents of drummer Todd Headley, bassist and multi-instrumentalist Boone Hood, and keyboardist Jesse Fountain.

“Gone” is a deeply felt opener. It’s a reflection on longing for the comforts of home and hearth while avoiding the sentimentality that we might otherwise associate with such songs. It’s expressed simply yet thoughtfully. The arrangement peaks and lulls with well-orchestrated movement that never strikes a false note, and the vocals are superlative throughout. Several stirring elements distinguish the track, but the greatest strengths lie with the expert blending of dueling guitar voices and the intelligent dynamics fueling the song.

I’m a great fan of the valedictory “Movin’ On”. Scores of songs have used this title throughout the history of popular music. Heart of Pine’s take on this well-traveled phrase boasts maturity and leave-taking without rancor while spotlighting another handful of the band’s best attributes. Keyboardist Jesse Fountain dazzles with his piano playing, and the band mixes female backing vocals to counterpoint the lead vocals with great effect.

“This Way” pleased me to no end. The rolling quality of the percussion, the introduction of horns into the mix, and a further illustration of the band’s command of dynamics are crucial. Steven Bagwell’s singing is an outstanding piece of Heart of Pine’s identity that reaches a particular peak with this performance.

“Voodoo Leg Bone” is outrageous fun. It’s driven forward by an assortment of powerhouse elements. Tasty guitar work is present throughout, Jesse Fountain’s keyboards provide ample fireworks, Todd Headley’s drumming may be his best moment on the release, and the lead vocals rank among the album’s finest moments.

Covering Bob Dylan is always a tricky proposition, but Heart of Pine aren’t mimics. Nor do they grab onto the most obvious of choices. “She Belongs to Me” is undoubtedly superb, but it’s an obscure gem in Dylan’s discography. However, Heart of Pine treats the mid-60s track as a major work and refurbishes it in a distinctive Heart of Pine way. It’s exuberant without ever losing the essence of the original.

The conclusion, “Phetamine & Pearls”, namechecks Dylan in its first line. I love this energetic character study of a past relationship, albeit with a woman you wouldn’t introduce to your mother, and it’s filled with zest. It closes Southern Soul Revival on an upbeat musical note and leaves listeners sure that the band’s future is brighter than ever.

Savannah Renfro

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Artist Spotlight

Loris Tils brings funk energy to life with “IKKI”

Loris Tils comes out swinging with “IKKI,” a single that comes with energy and musicianship right from the opening note. Borne on the unmistakable thump of Minneapolis Funk, the song surges forward with a groove that feels impressively designed and still wildly alive.

“IKKI” is a naughty conversation between slap bass and guitar, and the two instruments impressively craft around each other with both precision and flair, building a high-octane rhythm section that feels as tight as it is explosive.

The magic of “IKKI” is this tension, relentless discipline balanced by acrobats of daring improvisation. The energy never overwhelms the groove. Instead, it expands on it, making this song a celebration of rhythm, creativity, and instrumental chemistry.

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Artist Spotlight

Glass Mansions turn a possible goodbye into “SUNSETTING”

Glass Mansions return with “SUNSETTING,” a new single that came together during some uncertain times for the project. What began as a mini farewell to music turned out to be among the band’s most authentic and openhearted efforts yet.

The back story of the song’s creation feels almost cinematic. The day the decision was made to quit music altogether, a message came through from some big-time music executive who had heard about the band’s first Ep and wanted to collaborate. The band had agreed to share unreleased demos on request, though they hadn’t prepared any. That urgency caused a combustion of creativity that would shape the song’s trajectory.

“SUNSETTING” was written, tracked, and recorded in a home studio with scratch vocals in roughly two hours. What could have been a thrown-together demo became a surprise breakthrough. Confronted with the prospect of delivering just one last song, the writing became rather reflective, what would you say if it were your final creative curtain call.

“SUNSETTING,” produced by Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount alongside Orb Studios’ Taylor Webb, captures the urgency of its origin story but colors it with a new reflective emotional depth. The upshot is a song that feels at once improvisational and profound, an affirmation that, sometimes, when we think we’re reaching the end of something, it’s actually only setting in motion the most powerful of new starts.

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