Piney Gir - 'You Are Here' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Admiral Fleets

2. The Great Pretend

3. Puppy Love

4. Peanut Butter Malt Shop Heartthrob

5. Dreamcatcher

6. Variety Show

7. Careaway

8. Little Cop

9. We'll Always Have Paris

10. Evensong

Piney Gir’s music has been featured in many films and tv shows. Listening to this album it’s easy to see why. There is an Indie cinematic feel to much of the music. I can see many of these songs finding their way onto the soundtracks of many edgier tv shows or films but it would be a shame if that was this musics only home.

This is a challenging record that never quite lets you settle down and assume you know what’s coming next, which is what makes it worth listening to again and again.

What’s interesting is the blend of an Indie vibe with a 60's vibe, some of the vocals could have first been laid down in the 60’s but there are always little quirks that make it clear this isn’t a nostalgia trip. Every so often something appears that makes you think where did that come from? Sometimes my initial reaction was I’m not sure that worked but everything seemed to grow on me in unexpected ways.

There are some high quality songs on here such as 'Puppy Love', 'Dreamcatcher' and 'Careaway' but there is a high quality throughout, even the songs I wasn’t sure so about are very well written and produced but personally I think 'We’ll Always Have Paris' is the high point. Could it have made any both oblique and obvious references to other songs?

Playing spot the influence isn’t as easy as you might like, just when you think you’ve worked it out Piney Gir subverts your understanding and takes you off in an unexpected direction.

Some of the vocals are tremendous, the lyrics are interesting, this is not boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back level. It feels like there is a real attempt to be honest and emotional in some of the songs.

Does it always work? I’m not sure but when it does it’s tremendous. If you give enjoy a bit of Indie with some interesting and challenging quirks then you really should listen to this!