Tall Pines are a nostalgic sludge trio from Brisbane featuring members of Ghost Notes and Tiny Spiders. Their signature mood-rock was conceived by the united minds of Owen (guitar), Kelly (vox/guitar) and Cam (drums/vox) and these three Brisbane punks have just released their killer debut single The Day Is Gone.
The dissonant guitar riffs are immediately hypnotic and one can’t help but rock back and forth whilst sporting a visage of 90s angst. To build even further upon the gentle atmospheric trance, Kelly and Cam begin to lick your ears with a swirl of sexy apathetic harmonies. Through a plethora of pedals and screaming amps, Kelly and Owen both rock the hell out of their Fender Jaguars. As you can hear in the first climax, their ability to tame their animals puts Siegfried and Roy to shame.
Image: Getty Images
The best thing about The Day Is Gone might be that you get something new from it every time you hear it. It possesses the same authenticity as an untamed garage band but the delicate precision Tall Pines employ in timing and structure is impossible to ignore. It’s not often you can listen to screaming guitars and feel comforted, but even untrained ears can tell the distorted feedback and guitar squeals are fine-tuned to perfection. Tall Pines push and push but never quite reach the edge and collapse into a mess – a move far too common for many sludge bands. They are always in control and know exactly what emotions they’re conjuring up inside you.
Their ability to balance the track is uncanny. The contrast between walls of growling noise and alluring, come-hither vocals make for a delicious aural journey. Bringing both elements together in the final chorus is saliva-inducing. Luckily Tall Pines generously end the song with a swirling array of harmonies so you can get your shit together without anyone noticing your mouth-froth.
If you’re a headbangin’ hardcore fan I’d would highly recommend this. If you’re a quiet outcast who enjoys gazing into your shoes I’d highly recommend this. If you’re a fan of sultry vocal harmonies and body rollin’ I would highly recommend this. If you’re a maternal punk and plan on breeding a genius soon I would highly recommend this. Basically, if you are a human being with ears, listen to this song right now.
You can almost visualise Tall Pines winking in slow motion and saying “remember the 90s?”.
Don’t miss these legends playing at The Triffid on 25th August!