The Pineapple Thief — Magnolia (September 15, 2014) | Tais Awards (Czech, Slovakia & Overseas) Music

The Pineapple Thief

Magnolia

The Pineapple Thief — Magnolia (September 15, 2014)

The Pineapple Thief — Magnolia

Location: Yeovil, UK

Album release: September 15, 2014

Record Label: Kscope

Duration: 46:17 + 23:25 => 69:42

Tracks:

01. Simple As That 4:02

02. Alone At Sea 5:21

03. Don’t Tell Me 3:35

04. Magnolia 3:48

05. Seasons Past 4:15

06. Coming Home 3:06

07. The One You Left To Die 4:20

08. Breathe 2:50

09. From Me 2:36

10. Sense Of Fear 4:31

11. A Loneliness 3:21

12. Bond 4:32

CD2:

01. The Fins Fan Me 3:57

02. The One You Left To Die (Acoustic) 4:18

03. Seasons Past (Acoustic) 4:18

04. Don’t Tell Me (Acoustic) 2:58

05. Magnolia (Acoustic) 3:48

06. Steal This Life 4:06 Personnel:

Ξ Bruce Soord

Ξ Dan Osborne

Ξ Jon Sykes

Ξ Steve Kitch

Description:

Ξ Following the critically acclaimed 2012 album "All The Wars", The Pineapple Thief return with their new album "Magnolia" on 15th September via Kscope.

Ξ "Magnolia" will be released as a 2-Disc Deluxe media book with 24 page booklet. Ξ The second disc features 2 exclusive bonus tracks and 4 acoustic versions of album tracks.

Ξ Anthemic, catchy and straight from the heart, Magnolia represents the ultimate culmination of songwriter and guitarist Bruce Soord's ongoing quest to expand their musical horizons beyond the progressive sphere. With a sound more akin to Biffy Clyro and Muse, Magnolia has all the potential to bring The Pineapple Thief to the masses, having created a devastating collection of 12 beautifully crafted songs, cramming a vast array of emotional shades and inspirational ideas into its 47 mesmerising minutes. Veering from the strident opening assault of 'Simple As That', due to be released as the first single, through to the cinematic sweep of the closing track 'Bond'.

Ξ Magnolia was recorded at Snap Studios and mixed at Strongroom Studios in London, by Adam Noble, whose previous work includes albums from Placebo, Guillemots, Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams and Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly.

Formed in 1999 by founder and chief songwriter Bruce Soord The Pineapple Thief have continued to evolve and refine their sound ever since and they're seen by many as one of the most interesting and innovative rock bands the UK have produced in recent years. Recent albums like Someone Here Is Missing (2010) and All The Wars (2012) have made their reputation and fan base stronger, starting to gather interest from a wider spectrum of alternative rock followers. Bruce Soord also collaborates with other Kscope artists, joining forces with Katatonia's Jonas Renske on the 2013 Wisdom Of Crowds project and joining Katatonia on their recent Dethroned & Uncrowned Unplugged acoustic European tour.

Ξ The Pineapple Thief are due to tour the UK & Europe later in 2014.

The Pineapple Thief / All The Wars media comments:

♣ "...elegant, sophisticated work..." / "...moody and meaningful, introspective and universal... — PROG

♣ "Ambitious British indie-rock with tunes to spare" — TOTAL GUITAR

♣ "prog stalwarts deliver the goods" — KKKK Kerrang!

♣ "...the sound of a band reaching the height of their powers" — CLASSIC ROCK

♣ "an album of Muse-like, slow burning guitar anthems" — ROCKSOUND

≡ Magnolia follows acclaimed 2012 album all the wars and marks an important turning point for the band, as they expand their musical horizons beyond the progressive sphere.

≡ Recorded at Snap Studios and mixed at Strongroom Studios in London, Magnolia represents the ultimate culmination of songwriter & guitarist Bruce Soord’s ongoing quest to raise spirits and connect. A devastating yet uplifting collection of 12 beautifully crafted songs, it showcases the band’s intuitive chemistry and soulful demeanour, cramming a vast array of emotional shades and inspirational ideas into its 47 mesmerising minutes. Veering from the strident opening assault of ‘Simple As That’, due to be the first single, through to the cinematic sweep of the closing track ‘Bond’, it marks an important step in the band’s story, while skilfully encapsulating everything that has made their musical journey such a relentlessly fascinating one.

≡ “All I ever wanted was to write catchy songs that stay with people” comments founder Bruce Soord, explaining how this record represents an important evolutionary phase for The Pineapple Thief. “The striking thing is that there are no long tunes… all I care about now is writing a good song. I don’t think about whether it’s rock or progressive or commercial or anything like that. As time went on, I discovered I could say everything I wanted to say within a shorter period of time.”

≡ New drummer Dan Osborne, also heavily involved in the production of Magnolia, brought fresh energy and ideas to The Pineapple Thief, strongly contributing to steer the band in a new direction. Completing the line-up are solid bassist Jon Sykes and keyboard maestro Steve Kitch. While string arrangements are courtesy of regular collaborator Andrew Skeet of The Devine Comedy, the stunning final mix was crafted by mix engineer Adam Noble, who has previously worked on albums from the likes of Placebo, Guillemots, Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams and Belgium alt rock band dEUS. The artwork for Magnolia was created by French artist Patrick Gonzales www.patrickgonzales.net

© In Me + The Pineapple Thief (Metroppol, 01 Dec. 2012)

Formed in 1999 by founder and chief songwriter Bruce Soord as an experimental bedroom project, The Pineapple Thief have since continued to evolve and refine their sound. They’re seen by many as one of the most interesting and innovative rock bands the UK have produced in recent years - Previous albums like Someone Here Is Missing (2010) and All The Wars (2012) have made their reputation and fan base stronger, resulting in interest from a wider audience. Bruce Soord also collaborates with other Kscope artists, joining forces with Jonas Renkse of Swedish band Katatonia on their critically acclaimed Wisdom Of Crowds project. Along with this collaboration we saw Bruce join Katatonia on their recent Dethroned & Uncrowned Unplugged acoustic European tour.

≡ With the new sound akin to the likes of Muse and Biffy Clyro, Magnolia has all the potential to bring The Pineapple Thief to the masses. This, their tenth record, could not only be a milestone, but also a mainstream breakthrough for the band. With Magnolia they have created 12 musical gems that defy all classifications — Anthemic, catchy, intense, honest and straight from the heart.

≡ Magnolia is the tenth studio album from prog rockers The Pineapple Thief, although it marks a departure from the band’s usual style. As founder Bruce Soord explained, “there are no long tunes… all I care about now is writing a good song. I don’t think about whether it’s rock or progressive or commercial or anything like that. As time went on, I discovered I could say everything I wanted to say within a shorter period of time.”

≡ The result is a more direct approach to songwriting, contributing to an instantly more accessible album. The album starts with ‘Simple as That’, a slow burner with some impressive vocals, building to a heavier section that sounds like a Biffy Clyro track sung by Matt Bellamy (The Pineapple Thief, Biffy and Muse all had distinct cover art designed by the late Storm Thorgerson, too).

≡ It’s captivating and only just passes four minutes, demonstrating the band’s more concise approach to songwriting. The songs across the album are sprawling and hypnotic, drawing you in as good progressive rock music should. They go through different movements and sections, building toward consistently impressive climaxes. This is all boosted by the production, handled by bandleader Soord and mixed by Adam Noble, who has previously worked with Placebo, Paul McCartney, Deaf Havana and many more. There are also some stunning string arranements from Andrew Skeet, which really help transform a track like ‘Season’s Past’ into a beautiful album highlight.

The band are at their best when they have prog elements working together with the songs, as is the case with the odd timing of ‘The One You Left To Die’. Progressive music is at its worst when tricks like that bring attention to themselves and become the song, rather than serve as a part of it, and Magnolia manages never to fall into that trap. Something else The Pineapple Thief excel at are the straight up heavy moments in their songs, demonstrated in ‘Breathe’ and ‘Sense of Fear’, two hard hitters at the tail end of the album, separated by the sparse and atmospheric ‘From Me’. With the tracks that follow, Magnolia really comes to life at the end.

≡ Despite the shorter songs, the album still feels long, like an event, like something it might take a little patience to listen to from front to back. It could be the kind of album that you can dip in and out of, or it could be the kind of album you sit down and dedicate some time to. Most albums beg you to do one or the other, but The Pineapple Thief have created something here that doesn’t demand anything. Whether you listen to one track or all twelve, each one of them has the power to grab you, to take you on a journey. And there’s not many albums you could say that for.

Website: http://pineapplethief.com/

www.kscopemusic.com/tpt

www.pineapplethief.com

www.facebook.com/thepineapplethief

www.twitter.com/pineapplethief

Press: [email protected]

The Pineapple Thief biography

≡ Music is always at its most powerful when it comes straight from the heart. Masters of precisely that honest and truthful art, The Pineapple Thief have been a consistent and reliable force for imaginative and emotionally affecting rock music for the last 15 years and now, as they release their tenth studio album, the band are truly blossoming into something extraordinary and very special.

≡ Formed in 1999 by founder and chief songwriter Bruce Soord as an experimental bedroom project, The Pineapple Thief have pursued a distinctive and idiosyncratic path over the years; always evolving, always progressing, but never forgetting that the most potent weapon in any artist’s arsenal is the lovingly crafted song itself. Widely hailed as one of the most powerful and invigorating live rock bands the UK has produced in a long time, The Pineapple Thief of 2014 have refined and redefined their sound over and over again since those tentative early days. Recent albums like Someone Here Is Missing (2010) and All The Wars (2012) have contributed hugely to their reputation and renown, garnering frothing plaudits from the rock media and drawing in fans from across today’s vast alternative music spectrum.

≡ “The band started as an experiment, really early on, and I had an ‘Anything goes!’ and ‘Throw it all in the pot!’ philosophy,” he recalls. “Then it went through a dreamy, layered period with much longer songs and more atmospherics… and then, as we started to play live, the sound started to become more refined and tighter. The striking thing about the new album is that there are no long tunes. It still has progressive influences, but all I care about now is writing a good song. I don’t think about whether it’s rock or progressive or commercial or anything like that. It’s just that as time went on, I discovered I could say everything I wanted to say within a shorter period of time.”

≡ Recorded at Snap Studios and mixed at Strongroom Studios in London, The Pineapple Thief’s new album Magnolia represents the ultimate culmination of Bruce’s ongoing quest to raise spirits and touch hearts. A devastating but uplifting collection of 12 beautifully crafted songs, it showcases the band’s intuitive chemistry and soulful demeanour, cramming a vast array of emotional shades and inspirational ideas into its 47 mesmerising minutes. Veering from the strident opening assault of ‘Simple As That’ through to the cinematic sweep of the closing ‘Bond’, it marks another evolutionary step in the band’s story while skilfully encapsulating everything that has made their musical journey such a relentlessly fascinating one. As Bruce explains, a combination of fresh blood and collective rejuvenation has taken his band to new heights.

≡ “As always, I just picked up the guitar and let inspiration take its course but in the back of my mind I wanted to get the heavy, live energy that we have as a band to come across on the record,” he states. “One of the deciding factors was that we got a new drummer, Dan Osborne. Unlike most drummers, he’s got a really good musical ear! He’s got a studio, he’s a songwriter and he’s brought a load of fresh energy. In a way he was the main producer for the album. It was refreshing to have someone to come back and guide the music. If there is a progression, it’s Dan who’s had a large part to play.”

≡ With wonderfully fiery but elegant performances from Bruce, drummer Dan Osborne, bassist Jon Sykes and keyboard maestro Steve Kitch, plus sumptuous string arrangements courtesy of regular Thief collaborator Andrew Skeet and an immaculate final mix provided by engineer Adam Noble, Magnolia represents the best of everything that The Pineapple Thief have achieved to date. It is also the band’s most emotionally diverse and powerful album, with songs that harness the bewildering highs and lows that modern life hurls at us with alarming frequency and turns them into stirring, exquisitely truthful anthems that will surely resonate with everyone who hears them. Perhaps most powerful of all, the album’s glorious title track sums up that remarkable combination of lyrical reality and musical strength with heart-rending precision.

≡ Few bands ever reach their tenth album… even fewer arrive at such an impressive milestone with their creative engines firing at full strength. The Pineapple Thief have not just surpassed every one of their previous records this time; they have raised the bar for emotional rock music in general, ploughing a unique and laudable furrow which fully deserves to see them propelled to the forefront of British rock and beyond. At a time when so much modern music aims low and shies away from depth, beauty or longevity, Magnolia is an album that arrives meticulously constructed to stand the test of time and to cement this band’s reputation as a truly cherishable one-off.

≡ “All I ever wanted was to write catchy songs that stay with people,” Bruce concludes. “I just hope people listen and appreciate that. We’re all immensely proud of this album and we can’t wait to hit the road and play these songs for people.” (Dom Lawson July 2014)