The Pineapple Thief
What We Have Sown

"What have we sown" is the sixth studio album by Pineapple Thief, an English rock band with declared indie veins and more than legitimate progressive aspirations. The album, from 2007, is actually a lightning bolt on the road to the next stop, which is "Tightly Unwound" that will be released the following year. However, with the remnants of the old albums, the Pineapple Thief (!) manages to build the most cohesive and perhaps the best album of their career. It marks the farewell to Cyclops Records, the label that had published the previous ones, among which "Little Man" and especially "Variations on a dream" are definitely worth listening to.

The inspiration, which they certainly do not lack, flows into a remarkable compositional vein that, accompanied by the instrumental ability of the quartet and particularly by the brilliance of Bruce Soord, makes the work pleasant to the ear, musically valuable, and simultaneously relegates Pineapple Thief to one of the inexplicable mysteries of modern music: because, ultimately, very few know them, almost no one has ever heard of them. But who knows, with this album, if they have really sown something.

The start is soft with "All You Need To Know", able to immediately show the group's harmony and the ability for each member to express themselves convincingly. "Well, I Think That's What You Said?" is almost a game, with a violin debut and Soord sighing and seeming to refuse to start singing. When he does, it's to advise everyone to save their souls. The track continues as an indie-folk ballad, then introducing "Take Me With You", which records another remarkable vocal performance by Soord, first persuasive and then convincing, especially in the finale which is essentially a more aggressive reprise.
However, be on alert because, albeit in disregard, "West Winds" starts, the album’s first masterpiece. There is the impression that here PT wants to test themselves with a decidedly original instrumental composition, characterized by a psychedelic crescendo of absolute quality, and decidedly engaging. The result is noteworthy also because it is not just a simple experiment for a change, as all the group's sound characteristics are firmly represented in the track. Additionally, the work of arrangements and the quality of the sounds throughout the album are of excellent workmanship.
With "Deep Blue World", the album returns to the more placid notes of the previous tracks, although it becomes evident to the listener that sooner or later a monument for this Bruce Soord will need to be erected. On these light notes, the first part of the album closes ideally, leading and introducing the imposing suite "What have we sown?", which begins vaguely recalling Pink Floyd's "Echoes" but soon turns to other shores, with a dry drum prelude to a decidedly more "indie" intro. Then it is the piano that sets the tone for the opening verses, more delicate and marked by the (you would say "sweet", in poetry) singer's tone, also excellent here. A simple solo but appropriate to the moment and perfectly evocative. The second part, purely instrumental, ideally takes us back to the darker sounds of "West Winds", and lavishly closes a perfect album from every point of view, by an unjustly underrated band which, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting of the 2000s, together with another overlooked band, Gazpacho. But we will talk about that another time.

"What Have We Sown" - 2007
Duration: 56:42

Tracklisting
1. "All You Need to Know" (4:19)
2. "Well, I Think That's What You Said?" (5:20)
3. "Take Me With You" (5:07)
4. "West Winds" (8:52)
5. "Deep Blue World" (6:08)
6. "What Have We Sown?" (27.33)