In The Pines – ‘Sunbeam Dream’ Review

What does In The Pines sound like?

A union of vintage synths, psych rock, and a music tech dream.

The review of ‘Sunbeam Dream’ by In The Pines

When a band enjoys exploring the more psychedelic side of rock, and they enjoy a synth or two, there is a conscious decision about whether the guitars or synths lead and when. Traditionally, In The Pines has let the guitars lead, with their shoegazing psych rock sound. For their new album ‘Sunbeam Dream’, the guitars and synths are in union, sharing the lead alongside the vocals.

An immediate example of this is the opening track, ‘Never Fazed’. Whilst there are big, razor-carved guitar riffs that stridently power through like calls to the wild, they are flanked by big synth moments too. Often, the synths are used to destabilise the rhythm or harmony of the rest of the instrumentation. They bellow and bulge out of key, creating a swirl of dissonance in an unusual way. The album also has some fabulous filters and effects on the guitars, too. On the title track, a driving chugging bass underpins electric guitar solos that drill their way into you like sharp needles. The explosive, tight, reverbless riffs pack a hedonistic punch that demands you hit repeat.

‘Reticon’ is all about the vintage synths. It kicks off with a distant hypnotic throb of percussion and serpentine synths that glide and bloom into a folktronica drone track. It’s bold transitions from ethereal to industrial to indie pop keep you guessing, all the while the droning vocals keep you centred. ‘Time Shakes’ sounds like what would have happened if T-Rex made an album in the late 1980s. The smooth rhythms and guitars allow for a hybrid synth and jangle pop track to exist with a chirpy jazz undertone. ‘Flyin’ Nowhere’ is all about the big builds of marching rock in the choruses and hazy bridges and outros. It’s like the track is breaking free from its own structure to roam free.

The five-minute epic of ‘Delirium’ is the album’s centre point. This is where the vintage synths truly meet a shogazing psych rock band head-on. The first half of the track is a flowing, panoramic and cinematic blend of retro synths and guitar warbles. They blend beautifully together to create a vast landscape of rock, which is then crunched into a percussive rumble of taut bassier riffs for the “actual song”. In The Pines runs a vintage synth repair shop, and it feels like this track showcases a huge collection of their arsenal. ‘Hide The Sky’ does so too, as organs turn into electronic bleeps and bloops behind the heaviest, grittiest guitars on the album. Somehow, In The Pines nudges from post-rock to shoegaze through ambient, psychedelia and indie rock in under 10 minutes.

‘Golden Pin’ and ‘Oubliette’ are two tracks on the album, but the former is an acoustic, ethereal build that transitions into the latter. ‘Oubliette’ is a clever, fussy merge of harsh walls of synths against twirling acoustic guitars. So much of the album’s sound comes from a 1971 Mellotron the band revived from extinction, and when merged with the maddening swirl of acoustic guitars, bombastic rhythms, and slow-bleed vocals with a crystalline sheen, it is psych rock perfection. The album closes with the aggressive, almost poppy ‘All This Noise’. With the synth strings, thick and stompy basslines, and catchy riffs, we switch tempos, genres and decades across five minutes of divine rock. It culminates in a tour de force for each member of In The Pines, showcasing their instrument and skills before leaving us with a dreamy mirage as the song slows down to a crawl.

Whilst the music itself is superb, catchy, and rides on your emotions like a musical jockey, this album gives beyond the initial listen. With all those layers of synths, guitars, and vocals comes the surprise discovery of hearing new sounds on repeated listens. Popping on headphones reveals hidden stereo trinkets. Playing it out loud on speakers reveals surges of sound that carry your heart. There’s so much to unpack that you’ll appreciate listening back to ‘Sunbeam Dream’ over and over again. I’ve barely mentioned Michael’s vocals, which drift over the music like a cloud calling you home. They cap off a top-tier album that anyone who appreciates psych rock should enjoy.

Psych + shoegaze = In The Pines

Recommended track: Hide the Sky

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