ALBUM REVIEW: Soord Sessions Vol 1-4 – The Pineapple Thief

It’s been over a year since many of us have been able to see a live gig since the pandemic struck everywhere and lockdown began. Understandably, it’s an effort to make sure everyone is safe, but the lack of live music still stings in its own way. True, livestream gigs have become a thing in the last year, but they’re missing an element of togetherness, what can you take away to relive that show again and again? Thankfully, it seems that THE PINEAPPLE THIEF have a remedy for that with their Soord Sessions Vol 1-4, a collection of their songs in an acoustic session by frontman, Bruce Soord. Recordings from his acoustic livestreams, these 36 tracks from the band’s discography are transformed in a new way for lockdown – but how well is this done?

Pretty well in fact. From the cute little intro welcoming the listener to the experience to the mysterious tracks like The Final Thing On My Mind, there’s a lot of experimentation that happens within these acoustic sessions that it’s worth the listen to see how well the songs translate to this setting. It adds an ethereal touch to the tracks that shows they can transcend with any sound and still hit hard. Especially when it comes to the lyrics. Emotional, captivating, and mind-blowing in how creative and poetic they can be. This is evident in songs like No Man’s Land, A Lonliness, Willow Tree, and Versions Of The Truth.

Speaking of Versions Of The Truth, that song is punchy in all of the right places and really hits hard with its vicious lyrics. This is helped by the guitar work, which adds to that hard-hitting sound to make it hit right in your gut. The guitar, both in the riffs and in solos, is absolutely fantastic. Some amazing musical talent is on display in all of the songs, especially in Alone At Sea, White Mist, Demons, and The One You Left To Die. Each part knows what to do to help capture the right tone and mood of the song. The only let down is the vocals. In the majority of the tracks, they are fantastic. Deep, emotional, truly captures the atmosphere that the songs need. This is unfortunately a let down in White Mist, where the vocals sound flat and very off from the notes that Bruce Soord is trying to hit. 

Aside from that, it’s a great collection of some of the best THE PINEAPPLE THIEF’s work done in a new and fresh way that people can relive again and again. It can be tranquil, it can be fierce, it can be everything, even in that acoustic setting. Stripping back the music doesn’t harm the actual music in any way, even in some cases it actually enhances it. It’s worth the listen, worth the time to sit down to listen to, and just a joy to lie back and encompass the room. 

Rating: 8/10

Soord Sessions Vol 1-4 is out now via Kscope.

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