The Key Studio Sessions: Pine Barons

As I was saying a couple weeks ago, Pine Barons have one of the best names a Jersey-bred band can have. But they’re also so much more than a band with a clever name. Their songs are dynamic and emotive – you can bounce around the room to the insanely catchy “Since I’ve Been Away” just as easily as you can get swept up in the epic swell of “Chamber Choir.” Some moments skew very Americana (think My Morning Jacket) while others are shimmery and psychedelic (The Beatles and Petty by way of Dr. Dog and Kurt Vile) and others still are very classically indie rock (Built to Spill, Sunny Day Real Estate). But don’t expect that the Key Studio Session songs below to sound like outtakes from Keep It Like A Secret or Full Moon Fever; this is a band with its own voice at the center – three voices, actually, harmonized by singer-guitarists Keith Abrams and Brad Pulley and drummer Collin Smith. (Connor Jacobus of The Districts sat in on bass for this session, since regular low-end man Shane Hower was off at school at the time of the recording, and fellow DIstrict Braden Lawrence did some aux percussion.) Check out the music below, and catch Pine Barons when they play Kung Fu Necktie on January 26th; details at the XPN Concert Calendar.