By Jessica Pace
A Fine Frenzy
Pines
Virgin Records
Producer: Keefus Green
Score: 8 out of 10
Pines’ lulling, feedback-ridden soundscape and cooling, feminine vocals come off as an earthier-sounding Frou Frou. The third album from Alison Sudol is as lovely, bleary and green as its title and the artist’s native Seattle, with glorious vocal harmonization and fairy tale imagery of waking up in a riverbed and flowers in her hair. Piano lays a dark foundation and acoustic guitar grounds these 13 ethereal birdsongs, which are based on the concept of a pine tree given the opportunity to make a life of its own choosing. Outdoorsy in theme and sonically dreamy, many songs stretch past the five-minute mark and almost border on droning if it weren’t for a few danceable, rhythmic outliers that break through the haziness.
