December 12, 1998 :: NPR's All Things Considered :: by David Greenberger

NPR "All Things Considered" Pinetop Seven paint romantic landscapes filled with the aching heart, the beauty of tatters, and the poetics of dislocation. It's a place where shadows can both offer sanctuary and high dangers; paranoia dances with a dreamlike calm.

The band was founded in 1995 by Charles Kim and Darren Richard who met while attending college together. Fleshed out to a trio with bass player Ryan Hembrey, a timelessness pervades their sound. The words and music create partially glimpsed characters who could be living now or eighty years ago. They might be sweltering in a small town in the American heartland or drifting through a European winter. Pinetop Seven's song titles alone read like the table of contents in a volume of short stories: "The Fear of Being Found", "Rust in His Step", "Our First Drunk Dream", "Finding the Lady in Kicking Horse Reservoir", and "Drying Out".

There's a beauty of tone in these songs that beckons the listener to enter a place where tales of pain do not abate and fears grow stronger day by day. But the small details in the lyrics, coupled with the purity in the singing, make one feel that hope still glows within, inextinguishable.