Music Review // Shane Pendergast "Jack Pine"

 

Listening to a song like "Jack Pine" can bring out thoughts of other artists musically, but I do enjoy that Shane Pendergast lends his unique voice to this song so on that level it is very much his own.  With acoustic guitars and other strings present, the overall feeling here is between folk and Americana.  This, musically, makes me think of Neil Young and then you can just use all of the other artists Neil Young has influenced as reference points as well.

"Jack Pine" is about a tree and it's fitting that this song is about nature but also feels so natural.  There might be instruments plugged in here, but you could definitely go out into the middle of the woods where there is no electricity- where no extension cord can reach- and you can play this song for all of the woodland creatures to hear.  Having both the lyrics and music feel so connected to nature is not something we get a lot these days so it's worth a listen just for that.

Lyrically this song seems to cover a lot of topics.  It begins with the past, with the lines "In golden days of yonder / I saw an apple tree / Two lovers came and picked it / And set the whole world free".  From there we go into "Beneath the bark we're hollow / Destined to turn to ash" which feels like a prediction into the future, as this long seems to cover from life to death.  Still the chorus just seems to be about wanting something stable, something steady.

It might just be me, but I don't feel like a lot of artists are out there right now telling these types of stories.  It's the idea that the tree is grounded, it has roots and it's stable, and that is the type of love which this song is about.  To have that relationship that's as strong as a tree isn't really something you hear too often, but Shane Pendergast seems to find a way to create these types of songs that get you thinking.