“It was recently said in Q Magazine that if Shihad were American they’d be huge. You could say the same about Pine. The only difference being that this Christchurch-based band would be most at home on the other side of the Atlantic. A grand statement and especially since Pine’s sunny guitar sound never strays too far away from Flying Nun tradition. What you get is a splendid combination of Britpop and jangly Kiwi pop – think The Charlatans (on a good day) and Straightjacket Fits on an even better one.”
That’s how NZ Music Magazine Rip It Up put it and it pretty much sums up what Pine are all about. They write catchy wee songs and dont have a drummer in site! Relying instead on a minimal lineup of electric guitar organ and snare…it’s less of the gimmicks and more about the songs.
Being the only South island signing for the Arch Hill stable so far Pine enjoyed a prolific year in 2001 with the release of their debut 6 track EP ‘Speeding’. With steady radio play of ‘Make Way for The King’ and single ‘Speeding’ they soon joined NZ Icon Neil Finn on a tour of the country and played accross the nation on the Introducing Arch Hill Tour as well as appearances on leading Music TV Show Space and part of a mini documentary for TVNZ show entitled, The Great Art Trip.
They’re currently polishing the handles on their debut album due for release in the first half of the year and have a couple of singles on the way before then. And as Rip it uo so aptly put it…”Pine have not only revisited the long forgotten art of writing simple songs with simple melodies but aren’t too far off perfecting it.”
