Brent Randall(vocals, piano), Jess Lewis (vocals/guitar/piano), David Ewenson (drums), Joel Goguen (bass), Brian O'Reilly (guitar) and Laura Peek (vocals, flute, percussion)
Influences
Toytown Pop, Brill Building, Harry Nilsson, The Beach Boys, The Turtles, , Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, The Kinks, Elvis Presley, Wings, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, Rogers and Hammerstein, MGM Musicals, Children's Books and Fairy Tales, The Beatles, The Hollies...
Sounds Like
The Kinks, Van Dyke Parks, McCartney, Donovan, Nilsson
Arriving fully formed, Brent Randall & His Pinecones released the expertly crafted debut EP, Quite Precisely, in late 2004 (Charting 34 on Earshot). 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. From the first listen of "Strange Love (Don't Be Lazy)," it's apparent that the time spent honing the songs on We Were Strangers in Paddington Green was not in vein. The track's cabaret inspired delivery balances camp and beauty with equal grace. Produced by Jason MacIssac (Jenn Grant, The Heavy Blinkers), the song's lush sound is reminiscent of peak era Paul McCartney and Harry Nilsson. Randall's penchant for grandiose arrangements delivered over classic songwriting continues throughout the rest of the album. From the epic chorus of "This House" to the more crestfallen "Slumberjack," We Were Strangers in Paddington Green never reveals the hand print of its formation. It instead is a beautifully complete document, balancing emotion and sound into one forward striding and backwards looking collection of songs.
A single featuring two songs from this album (Strange Love and This Absence of Mine) has been released online and on vinyl 7 inch. The single has received a lot of attention on CBC radio and campus radio alike. Although the past two years we're spent recording, Brent has kept busy with the live band. Brent Randall and his Pinecones have completed two national tours in the last year as well as a number of East Coast and Ontario tours. They've shared the stage with such acts as Wintersleep, M Ward, The Hylozoists, Two Hours Traffic, The Meligrove Band, Dog Day, and Germans. They were invited to Toronto to record a CBC Radio 3 “In Session” which was also filmed for a one hour program on CBC’s digital tv station, “County Canada.” In 2006 Music Nova Scotia selected him to take part in their high profile private showcase night at Canadian Music Week, they performed at CMW in Toronto opening for the Buttless Chaps and the Halifax Pop Explosion with In Flight Safety and Dog Day. In fact over the past few years Brent has played most of the best alternative music festivals, including Coast to Coast in PEI, Stereophonic in Sackville NB, Pop Montreal in Montreal, Pop Explosion in Halifax, Juno Fest in Halifax, and the QuebecOff in Quebec City
Brent Randall and his Pinecones's Friend Space (Top 16)
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CORSAGE (Portugal) BOGART & THE ADDICTIVES (France) THE PLASTIC STARS (EEUU) ALASKA (Germany) CLOE DU TREFLE (Belgium) ALL MY FRIENDS (Scotland) BABY SCREAM (Argentina) BEER FOR BREAKFAST (Indonesian) BAND A PART (Spain) BRENT RANDALL & HIS PINECONES (Canadá) IOWA SUPER SOCCER (Poland) PENELOPE (France) THE PROFILERS (Portugal) CADDY (Norway) LET'S GO SAILING (Portugal) ANNE GILPIN & MORTON VALENCE (England) BRISTOL (France) CLARA V (Argentina) CLOUDBERRY JAM (Sweden) CLEMIX SOUNDSHAKER (Belgium) BLONDIE G-D (Greece) HONEYRIDER (USA) NICORETTE (Portugal) VIRGILE ALLEN (France) CECILIAS (Spain)
Have you heard the Pope speak English? He sounds like Dr. Strangelove... Anyways, too bad I no see shows of yose. Hope there'll be more to catch soon. Stuff sounds great, both new and old.
