New Music Tuesday: Whispering Pines

Have you ever known someone from around? You can't remember specifically how or when you met them? I've known Joe Zabeilski from around for a couple of years now. We both travel on foot in and around our neighborhood, we see each other at my restaurant where I serve him copious amounts of iced green tea, and every now and again I'll run into him at Red Lion. Couple days ago he shows up at Gingergrass and tells me his band Whispering Pines have finished their record and he has a copy for me.

This is the culmination of a conversation 10 months in the works. Every time I see him he gives me a status update on his record, so to finally have the record in my hands feels like some sort of accomplishment. To call Whispering Pines roots music is the simple, derivative comparison. Instead I like to think of them as a band stepping out of a time machine into another era in which their music is as relevant and enjoyable as the time from which they traveled. This kind of americana can be found in parts in all sorts of LA bands like Welldiggers Banquet and the Parson Red Heads as well as national acts like Fleet Foxes. But what Whispering Pines do a bit differently is embody their influences to the point where they become indistinguishable from them.

Some would argue that this is a bad thing and that I am criticizing Whispering Pines. Not so. In their case, it's a compliment. One just has to listen to "Family Tree," the opening and title track on their new record (which I've posted below) to realize sometimes it just feels right to do something so well, even if that thing has been done so well by others for a long time.

You can buy Whispering Pine's record Family Tree at Amoeba and catch them live January 25th at the Bootleg Theatre.