The Burnt Pines: “Don’t Look Down” (2023) CD Review

The debut album from The Burnt Pines was released at the beginning of 2021, coming just when we needed something beautiful and bright, following the horrible year of 2020. And now, following the painful year of 2022, The Burnt Pines are back with their second album, Don’t Look Down. This one contains mostly original material, written by the three core members, Kris Scovmand, Aaron Flanders and Miguel Sá Pessoa. And while these songs sometimes reach into darker spaces, there is an optimism that runs through the material, a strong sense of hope and encouragement. Plus, these are just really good songs. The group is made up of Kris Scovmand on vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica; Aaron Flanders on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, harmonica and tambourine; Miquel Sa Pessoa on piano and keyboards; Fernando Huego on electric bass; and Luis Barros on drums and percussion. There are a few guests joining them on certain tracks.

The album opens with “Bring Out Your Book,” which has a rather sweet sound as it starts. It features some wonderful backing vocal work by Erica Leigh, her voice blending well Kris Skovmand’s vocals. And if you’re curious just which book is referred to in the title, these guys soon make it clear with these lines: “So bring out your priest, and bring out your book/Put me down on my knees/Take me down to the river and dunk me in the water/If you think it might help me please/But there’s no way that God can save me now/There’s nothing that God will do.” It changes to “But there’s no way that God will save you now” and eventually to “us.” We may be on our own, but we’re on our own together. This track features some good work on harmonica. That’s followed by the album’s title track, “Don’t Look Down.” Check out these lyrics: “All black holes and eyes unknown/And darkness is the winner/I was up on a mountain/And she was down in the streets/Drinking wine and counting her dreams.” There is something of a glorious energy to this song, a determined energy, which feels like optimism to me. And I love the way the piano adds to that feeling. “Whatever you do/Don’t look down.”

And speaking of optimism and a positive outlook, this group next gives us “Pushing On.” Early in this song they sing, “And sometimes your dreams might not come true,” inserting the slightest pause before adding “for a while.” Ah, yes, I like that. When things haven’t worked out, we have to keep in mind that they still can, even if it may seem foolish to hold on to such belief. This is a song that urges us to keep going. Sometimes it is so difficult to get up, and to even know which direction to move if we do manage to get up. But again, this song reminds us that everyone is essentially in the same boat. “Now everybody has some pain that just never gets better/And everybody carries that pain around in their heart for a while.” In this song, they offer encouragement: “Just pick up the pieces/And keep moving ahead/Don’t ever stop believing/And just try to keep pushing on, on, on.” It’s advice we need to hear frequently, I think. Besides, what is the alternative?

Dan Fox, who played on the band’s first album, joins them on double bass for “What Did You Come Back For?” This one has a softer sound, and features some excellent lyrics and a passionate vocal performance. “I’ll give anything for the muse/It’s a shady quality that keeps me hungry for/Everything that I could lose.” And these days I completely understand these lines: “I don’t even go out no more/Every time I do, it’s just a storm.” Feels that way, doesn’t it? I would certainly prefer to hide out under the sheets and blankets, and just avoid all drama and trouble. “What Did You Come Back For?” is followed by “Angels And Violence.” This one begins in a mellow, thoughtful place. “I can’t forget about you/Without losing my mind.” But this one too eventually provides a bit of encouragement: “Don’t feel bad when the well runs dry/Don’t feel sad because you tried.” There is a pretty instrumental section just before the song’s conclusion.

“In From The Outside” has a somber tone as it begins, coming from a place of trouble and pain. You can hear it in his voice. But he’s not giving up: “I won’t bend, and I won’t break/Just because I am wrong/Doesn’t mean that you are right.” It’s a song of perseverance, and about priorities. “It just doesn’t seem real,” he sings at one point, just before a short instrumental section. How often have we uttered those words in recent days and years? That’s followed by “Your Magic Is To Blame.” An intriguing title, right? This one begins with some pretty, gentle work on acoustic guitar, and it grows from there, becoming rather beautiful. “I want to make my heart like it was/Open to fear, and open to love.” That’s followed by the album’s other interesting title, “The Ghost Living In My Beer.” This one features Joe Cunningham joining the group on tenor saxophone, delivering some good work. There is an intensity to the guitar part from the start. And then after a minute or so, the song takes on a good, jazzy groove. “And you may tell me you are right and I am wrong/But I have nothing left to fear/‘Cause I am happy with myself and with my song/And the ghost living in my beer.”

“Welcome Home!” is a sweet, playful number. “I am not a fool/But I feel so new/Discovering you.” Ah yes, what a feeling, like discovering a new world. And this song has kind of a catchy groove. Mariana Lebre Torres provides some good backing vocal work on this track. There are also some interesting and unexpected electronic sounds. That’s followed by “Daytime TV.” I didn’t expect a song with that title to have such a pretty and moving sound. This track features a beautiful vocal performance, as well as some warm work on piano. “The game show host is selling me a dream/I hear the wild youth dancing in the streets/I stood there as a clown/On the day my business burned down/Tell me now, love, who’s praying for me?” Then “Bad Love” has a rock groove and energy, but is beautifully restrained and is one of the album’s most interesting tracks. “I want a reaction, I want a reaction from you/You think I’m ugly, I think you’re plain/We’re pushing to shove/Just two lost souls with boiled up brains/In the age of bad love.” The album the concludes with its only cover, Jethro Tull’s “Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day,” an interesting choice. It’s a good song, but one I hadn’t thought of in quite a while. These guys do a wonderful job with it. Certain lines now stand out, as the climate crisis is something that only the very stupid still disbelieve: “So as you push off from the shore/Won’t you turn your head once more/And make your peace with everyone/For those who choose to stay/Will live just one more day/To do the things they should have done.”

CD Track List

1. Bring Out Your Book
2. Don’t Look Down
3. Pushing On
4. What Did You Come Back For?
5. Angels And Violence
6. In From The Outside
7. Your Magic Is To Blame
8. The Ghost Living In My Beer
9. Welcome Home!
10. Daytime TV
11. Bad Love
12. Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of The New Day)

Don’t Look Down is scheduled to be released on February 3, 2023.