Chamber pop act Brent Randall & His Pinecones will be touring across Canada this March and April in support of their new 7″ single, Strange Love (Just Friends). The release precedes the group’s forthcoming LP, “We Were Strangers in Paddington Green” (May, 2008).
Arriving fully formed, Brent Randall & His Pinecones released the expertly crafted debut EP, “Quite Precisely…,” in late 2004. The seven songs on the album showed a style of song and depth in writing rarely seen since Brill Building era pop. Randall quickly became a enigmatic yet renowned character throughout the East Coast.
Along with His Pinecones, made up of Laura Peek, David Ewenson, Joel Goguen, Brian O’Reilly and Jess Lewis, he played several legendary shows in the years that followed, previewing new songs from an ever forthcoming LP that never seemed to materialize.
Four years later, and the wait is finally over.
With the advance single, “Strange Love” (Just Friends), Randall offers two songs from his upcoming LP, We Were Strangers in Paddington Green.
From the first listen of “Strange Love (Don’t Be Lazy)”, it’s apparent that the time spent honing the songs in studio was not in vein. The track’s cabaret inspired delivery balances camp and beauty with equal grace. The b-side of the single is the more contemplative, “This Absence of Mine.” With ghostly backing vocals and climbing synth lines, it offers an exciting glimpse at the depth of the forthcoming LP. Produced by Jason MacIssac (Jenn Grant, The Heavy Blinkers), the song’s lush sound is reminiscent of peak era Paul McCartney and Harry Nilsson.
ba johnston has spent the last 4 years either living at his moms or touring canada on the greyhound bus. he’s played in laundromats, laundry rooms, stag and does, church halls, legions, bars, bookstores, vegan cafes and other hell holes across this country with bands like immaculate machine, cuff the duke and mayor mcca. his music is nerd rock at its highest point, dork lullabys and loser anthems. 5 albums later he is still eating mr.noodles in his moms basement and hoping to soon escape. he is the definition of FRYCOOL.