Fire In The Pines of San Marcos, Texas seamlessly combine the emotional and the elemental.
On their sophomore release, Wind Through The Barbwire, frontman Ben Worley’s honest and
sharp writing is suffused with natural imagery, accompanied by folk instrumentation that flows
from rustic and rock, to horn driven avant-garde and lush string arrangements. The album’s title track, saturated in imagery of West Texas, depicts a woman who has lost almost everything, and yet manages to discover love in all of the beautiful details of life. As the name implies, wind-like choruses sweep up between measured verse that both verbally and sonically idealize the region. “Everything Less” describes the very essence of loss and the poetry of filling the void that remains. Softly conveying that feeling of emptiness, the sextet is joined by Grace Park (The Deer, The Blue Hit) whose harmonies with Worley are beautifully showcased. Epic poetry meets Western soundtrack in “Mountain’s Song”, based on the Beowulf character Grendel and the pity felt for the monster. A churning acoustic guitar and subtle electric twang give way to atmospheric strings provided by Adam and David Moss (The Brother Brothers) while Worley sings of the desperation of a misunderstood monster. Guitar heavy “Burn My Car” goes maximum with multiple solos and distortion, threaded with flute from multi-instrumentalist Totter Todd. Pedal steel guitarist Curtis Clogston (The Railhouse Band, Steel Betty) lends his handiness to “Figure It Out”, where Fire In The Pines find themselves stylistically similar to Old 97’s.
Wind Through The Barbwire was produced by Michael McLeod (The Deer, Good Field) and primarily recorded in a rented house in the country near San Marcos, where the studio was brought in and set up with help from the band. The rest of the album was recorded over the next two years in various houses and studios around Austin and Central Texas. Wind Through The Barbwire was mastered by Neil Strauch (Iron & Wine, Margot & the Nuclear So So’s, Andrew Bird).
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