Pinetop Seven's music seems to exist in two different worlds. One consists of dark European clubs and bistros, where the band plays by candlelight in smoke-filled rooms for patrons who are drunk on absinthe, watching dark-eyed beauties dance in the flickering light. The other is the Midwest, where folk music meets with country music (with 'nary a twang to be seen). The two might sound mutually exclusive, but the unifying factor is the mood that these 4 multi-instrumentalists create, one of longing and lonesome twinges you get when looking through old photos.
No Breath in the Bellows is actually a small collection of previously released material and songs from soundtracks, so perhaps the reason for the varying styles of the material. But whatever the case, Pinetop Seven creates some wondrous sounds. Remember when you first heard August and Everything After by Counting Crows, before the radio became inundated with "Mr. Jones"? There were actually some beautiful songs on that album that really got overlooked. Pinetop Seven evokes moods similar to that, minus some of the studio polish.
Nowhere is this more evident than on tracks like "Drying Out," which sounds like something an alcoholic might write while trying to go sober. Lethargic, with some beautiful slide guitar that follows Darren Richards' heartbreaking vocals, it still remains a beautiful restraint. "Quit These Hills" is another lonesome ballad, something to listen to while sitting on the porch and watching the wheat grow on a summer evening.
The synthesis of those two worlds I mentioned earlier occurs on "40 Watt Bulb." An accordion, organ, and marimba join with Richards' voice and steel guitar, creating a semi-foottapping tune that still manages to be wistful, especially towards the end. The title track -- taken from the Dying To Leave The Country soundtrack -- sounds like something from a French crime movie. A slowly creeping bassline and half-whimsical piano melody are interchanged with small bits of accordion and vocals here and there.
Personally, I prefer the material like "Drying Out" and "Quit These Hills" but it's all of high quality. The somber mood conveyed in these 7 songs is highly evocative and cinematic, without losing one bit of its intimacy. Having never heard any of their other stuff, I don't know if the material here is a good cross-section of Pinetop Seven's musical output, but in and of itself, it's a very nice addition to a record collection.
