July 30, 2024

Trace Mountains - "In A Dream"


Dave Benton has shared the first single from Trace Mountain's upcoming album Into the Burning Blue.

I'm a fan of the War on Drugs. Not the US government's successful ploy to wrongfully imprison way too many people for rather minor crimes, but rather the heartland rock band that has put out three tremendous albums over the past decade. However for the reason I just mentioned, I have a hard time buying one of their t-shirts because the name, well, isn't awesome. Needless to say, this isn't really about the War on Drugs other than the fact that the new song from Trace Mountains (and the lead single for their upcoming album) sure does sound A LOT like a War on Drugs song. Luckily, as I mentioned, I'm a fan of the Drugs so hearing things that sound like them is generally great, but I do fear that this new song almost sounds too much like Adam Granduciel's band. Specifically, it sounds very similar to their songs "Under the Pressure" and "Burning." While I am not about to call out plagiarism here, it doesn seem impossible to ignore the familiar sonic template that the songs seem to share. Those syncopated drums, the clean guitar tones, the melodies, hell even the name of the song, they all could've been lifted straight from the cutting room floor of Lost in the Dream, but I digress because "In A Dream" is still a very good song and it's been a while since we heard new material from Adam and company. Trace Mountains have always dabbled in the sounds of classic Americana and the sound of the heartland and here they really hit their stride, like hitting cruise control on an open highway with the windows down and your arm hanging out the side making waves in the wind. It's a big song that takes up space with some of Dave Benton's most grand gestures to date and sets a very high bar for what the rest of the album may have in store. If it follows the sound all the way through, we're in for something special.

Into the Burning Blue is out September 27.

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