Tuttle, Doug – Pinecone [IMPORT Limited Edition GREEN VINYL: Green Noise Exclusive MARKED DOWN HALF PRICE] – New 12"

GREEN NOISE EXCLUSIVE!!! Green VINYL EDITION OF 100.  w/ download code

Simply wonderful new recordings from Tuttle, stripped down to the songs and then dressed up with a few jewels embedded in the sounds, coming out of his past works but steadfast on new directions as well.  Some of Tuttle's earlier work seemed to come out of the second half of the 1960s, the stuff drenched in melancholy under the heavy haze of reds and hallucinogens, like some of the early Pink Floyd songs or some of the songs of Love or VU, the psychedelic pop songs of that era, but while this is clearly an extension of Tuttle's previous work, he seemed to slowly and sometimes almost unnoticeably be moving in new directions, and while that direction had been established previous to this collection of songs, here the natural progression has clearly arrived at a place where he's got a grip on it with both hands, where he can hold it and feel its heartbeat.  Instead of sounding influenced by the 1960s, this seems more connected with the extension of the 1960s that surfaced into the light of day in the 1970s with bands who clearly had some Beatles influence (along with other influences such as the Byrds, Dylan, Ray Davies, the Box Tops and Everly Brothers), whether the influences were obvious or more hidden under the artists' own visions, music that wasn't completely removed from darkness but seemed to shine some light in the shadows, aware of the frailty of life and imperfections of humanity, but not completely ignoring that last junk that rose from Pandora's box, bands and artists such as Todd Rundgren, Jonathan Richman, Badfinger, Dennis Wilson, Tom Petty, Chris Rea, Shoes, and even solo work from the fab four, namely George Harrison or maybe even Ringo (or later with bands like Teenage Fanclub).  Of course, while the past might have provided some inspirations, this is timely music steeped in all that comes with a pandemic but prying open the basement window and pulling aside the curtains to look outside and look toward the lifting of the isolation. This seems the perfect music for this summer, or really anytime.  It's essential listening.  -- winch (green noise)