Pinetop Seven 

began in 1996 as a loose collective of young Chicago musicians 

interested in re-working the notion of popular American music; co-opting 
elements from diverse musical traditions (Tango, Funeral Dirges, 20th Century
Classical, Eastern European, Asian Gamelan) and blending them with American 
Folk and Country-Blues.  Over the group's 8 year/ 5 album history, twenty three 
men and women have contributed to the records or participated as touring 
members, among them past or present members of

  Bright Eyes,  Wilco

, the

Boxhead Ensemble, 

and 

Rilo Kiley. 

Despite the ever-changing cast, the 

mission statement remains unchanged, and anchored by songwriter, multi-
instrumentalist and singer

 Darren Richard

, Pinetop Seven continues to quietly 

assemble compelling collages of sounds and words, mini-epics of storytelling, 
and snapshots of an America that Norman Rockwell would never recognize. 
 

The Night’s Bloom 

continues the band's tradition of pairing abstract storytelling 

with an unusual musical sense, drawing inspiration from the likes of

  John 

Fahey'

s

 

"American Primitives" (

Skip James, Dock Boggs

) to the avant-garde

musics of Harry Partch and Moondog. From the singer-songwriter laments of 
Jackson Frank 

and 

Tim Hardin, 

to the haunted film scores of

  Angelo 

Badalamenti 

(David Lynch) and

 Nino Rota 

(Federico Fellini). The cryptic tales 

are stark and personal, and bring to mind the narratives of

  Jim Jarmusch, 

Raymond Carver 

and 

John Fante. 

 

Pinetop Seven employs an extremely broad palette of both

 found sounds 

and 

man-made instrumentation to bring their cinematic music to life.   Marimbas, 
vibraphones, shoe-horns, loops, accordions, melodicas, pump organs, all take 
their place next to more traditional guitars, a thrift store drum kit, and double 
bass.  Additionally, for The Night's Bloom, the band recruited the talents of

 The 

Parapluie Ensemble, 

to help render the

 elegant string arrangements

, giving 

this album a dignity and grace never fully realized with previous albums. 

 

The Night’s Bloom was recorded in the band’s Chicago attic space, with

 fifteen 

musicians 

contributing to the effort.  As with previous records, the band 

handled all engineering duties, recording on a 16 track analog tape machine 
and home computer.

 

s e l l i n g   p o i n t s :  

 

;

 

Pinetop Seven has headlined across North America and Europe and has also 

toured in support of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Calexico, Stephen Malkmus, 
Will Oldham, and others.   
 

;

 

 Pinetop Seven's lyrics have been quoted in the last three best-selling novels by 

Irish writer, John Connolly, and their work has been commissioned by The 
Sundance Film Festival.  
 

;

  Pinetop Seven’s previous albums have been lauded by Mojo,  NPR,  The Wire, 

Pitchfork, Uncut, among others. 
 

 

P I N E T O P   S E V E N  

              the night's bloom 

„

   

S t r e e t   D a t e :   O c t o b e r   2 5 ,   2 0 0 5          

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L a b e l :   E m p yr e a n   R e c o r d s          

„

   

C a t a l o g   # :   S K Y   0 1 1          

„

   

C D   B o x   L o t   Q t y :   2 9                

„

   

L i s t   P r i c e :   $   1 3 . 9 8   ( C D )   /   $   1 4 . 9 8   ( 2 x L P )    

„

   

F o r m a t :   C D   /   2 x L P   ( vi n y l   n o n - r e t u r n a b l e )  

„

   

U P C :   8 03645 00112 4  C D   /   8 03645 00111 7  2 x L P  

t r a c k   l i s t i n g :  

 

01 The Night's Bloom 
02  Easy Company 
03  Fringe 
04  A Fire Burns at the Foot of Our Bed 
05  Born Among the Born Again 
06  A Mouthful of Expensive Teeth 
07  June 
08  A Page From the Desert 
09  His Aging Miss Idaho 
10  Untitled 
11  Witness 
12  Made a Whisper Out of Me 
13  The Comedy Is Ended 
*14  Hurry Home Dark Cloud 

(LP only bonus track)

 

*15  Sleepless 

(LP only bonus track)

 

*16  Where the Road Runneth Out

(LP only bonus track)

 

"Rich with the beauty of daunting vast spaces and 
intimate close details, both timeless and utterly 
modern."  

– NPR 

 

"Sensitive, real, poetic, dark and atmospheric enough 
to paint the insides of your eyelids with dusky moors, 
sundown deserts, Pyrenees steppes or simply dark 
and lovely, immortal secrets. If this LP doesn't get 
you laid, nothing will." 

 – Magnet 

 

"A striking work of mournful elegance and cinematic 
beauty."  

– CMJ 

 

"Pinetop Seven's music transcends its weary mood 
with an encyclopedic grasp of worldly styles and song 
structures, esoteric instrumentation, and playing so 
accomplished it ironically seems almost playful.”  

– The Washington Post 

 

"Pinetop Seven's unique sound suggests boundless 
creativity. It's not another type of music, but instead, 
another world of music."  

– Pitchfork Media 

 

"Truly a breath-taking accomplishment."  

– Chicago Sun-Times 

CD UPC 

2xLP  UPC