Pines is the third and final studio album by A Fine Frenzy, the former stage name for American singer-songwriter Alison Sudol. The album was released in the United States on October 9, 2012, and in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2013, through Virgin Records. Pines is accompanied by a companion book and short animated film, 'The Story of Pines,' which premiered on TakePartTV on October 2.Watch 'The Story of Pines' on TakePart TV
To support the album, Sudol co-headlined the "Live and In Concert" tour throughout the United States and western Canada in October and November 2012 with musician Joshua Radin.
Composition Pines contains thirteen original tracks, each written or co-written by Sudol, and totals 67 minutes, 47 seconds in length. In an interview with Anthropologie, Sudol stated that "the entire record is a story, and each song is a chapter that leads into the next".Alison is Anthropologie's newest Push Play Project Artist!
Promotion
Singles The song "Now Is the Start" was released as the lead single for "Pines" on July 30, 2012. Sudol performed the song live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 3, 2012. The accompanying music video was released on November 15, 2012.Now Is The Start
Other songs In addition, a music video for "Avalanches", a promotional single for "Pines", was released on October 9 to coincide with the album's release date. To date, lyric videos for both "Now Is The Start" and "Avalanches" have been posted to A Fine Frenzy's official YouTube account.
Critical response
Reviews for Pines have been generally positive. Maggie Levin of mxdwn.com praised the quality of Sudol's writing and commented that "aptly, there is as much forest as longing in this record", concluding that "the journey is as diverse as it is exquisite, with moments of solemn austerity cleverly offset by felicitous rapture".A Fine Frenzy – PINES mxdwn.com High Fidelity Caitlin White of Spinner.com also gave the album a favorable review in her interview of Sudol, writing "Pines manages to combine the real world with the world of imagination in a very tangible way."AOL Radio – Listen to Free Online Radio – Free Internet Radio Stations and Music Playlists Consequence of Sound awarded the album three out of five stars, asserting that Pines is "double-edged walk through the woods", and the album reflects "the sound of growing up". James Christopher Monger of AllMusic gave Pines four stars out of five, praising Sudol's successful integration of natural themes and emphasizing that "Sudol is a masterful architect of atmosphere" and her songs "all benefit from her ability to balance musicality with austerity, and like the rivers she draws much of her inspiration from, blissfully follow a course to the ocean of their own design". EY Magazine also awarded Pines four stars out of five, calling the album "authentic music" and remarking that "A Fine Frenzy releases the kind of music you're not only compelled to listen but dared to feel in your soul."
Track listing
Track listing adapted from Allmusic.
Charts ChartsPeakpositionUS Billboard 20062US Billboard Digital Albums20US Billboard Rock Albums28
Tour DateCityCountryVenue October 11, 2012Twitter / AlisonSudol: Hey Santa Rosa! Do you want Santa RosaUnited States Wells Fargo Center October 12, 2012Twitter / AlisonSudol: Do you want free tickets to San Francisco Warfield Theatre October 13, 2012Twitter / AlisonSudol: Hey Newport Beach! We've hidden Newport Beach Balboa Beach Fest October 16, 2012Twitter / SquarePegNW: http://t.co/soFEbtsI TONIGHT Portland Crystal Ballroom October 17, 2012Twitter / AlisonSudol: Hey Vancouver! We've hidden Vancouver Canada Vogue Theatre October 18, 2012 Seattle United States City Arts Festival October 20, 2012 EdmontonCanada McDougall United Church October 21, 2012 Calgary Knox United Church October 23, 2012 Winnipeg Garrick Center October 25, 2012 MinneapolisUnited States Mill City Nights October 26, 2012 Chicago The Vic Theatre October 27, 2012 Detroit Majestic Theater October 29, 2012 New York City Best Buy Theater October 30, 2012 Philadelphia Electric Factory November 1, 2012 TorontoCanada Danforth Music Hall November 2, 2012 Montreal Corona Theatre November 3, 2012 BostonUnited States Orpheum Theatre November 5, 2012 Charlottesville Paramount Theater November 7, 2012 Durham Carolina Theatre November 8, 2012 Atlanta Buckhead Theatre November 9, 2012 Nashville Marathon Music Works November 10, 2012 Birmingham Workplay Soundstage November 12, 2012 Houston House of Blues November 13, 2012 Austin Paramount Theatre November 14, 2012 Dallas House of Blues November 16, 2012 Los Angeles Wiltern Theatre
Tour listing adapted from A Fine Frenzy's official live page.Live
Personnel
Alison Sudol – composer, percussion, piano, programming, vocals Jon Brion – bass, guitar, instrumentation, keyboards, pump organ Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion Omar Cowan – guitar, programming, vocals (background) Keefus Green – keyboards, piano, producer, programming, pump organ, vibraphone Gabe Noel – bass, bass (upright), bowed bass, cello Martin Tillman – cello, electric cello Peter Bradley Adams – piano Jonathan Wilson – composer, drums, ukulele
Jesse Siebenberg – composer Omar Velasco – composer Paul Ackling – guitar technician Ronette Bowie – A&R Dan McCarroll – A&R Eric Caudieux – engineer, Pro-Tools Greg Koller – engineer, mixing Hugo Nicholson – engineer Paul Smith – second engineer Patricia Sullivan Fourstar – mastering Nicole Frantz – Creative director Bob Semanovich – Product manager Abby Weintraub – Design
Personnel adapted from Allmusic.
References
External links
Pines at A Fine Frenzy's official site