Trace Mountains with TBA!

“And you’re off into the burning blue” songwriter Dave Benton sings on “Ponies,” the

centerpiece of Trace Mountains’ fourth full-length album Into the Burning Blue.

Decorated with retro textures and violet flowers, the album begins with the crackle of a

fire, as if something is burning and hatching into a new form. As Benton grappled with

the end of an 8-year romantic relationship, songs were pouring out of him in quick

succession, often urgently before he had logically processed the emotions himself.

Collectively, the songs are imbued with a spectrum of weighted emotions, but the blue

continued to burn, with each song adopting its respective hue — a violet reclaiming of

passion, a deep sea blue of sorrow, the sky blue moments of relief and liberation when

he comes up for air and sees hope on the horizon. The pressure of this period

crystallized Benton’s adventurous spirit and self-renewal as he embraced new

high-fidelity sounds and conviction. Writing routinely over a Roland CR-68 drum

machine and enamored with the dramatic precision of 80s music, Benton enlisted Craig

Hendrix (Japanese Breakfast) to bring his indie rock to immersive new heights.

Out of Hendrix’s Philadelphia studio “The Well,” the two employed synth-laden,

reverberating atmospheres that enter the frame like layers of supernatural silk. The end

result is a pensive and playful collection of songs that gallop along Fleetwood Mac pop

grooves with sharp melodies and signature 80s gated snare (á la Phil Collins). The

album still tumbles through Benton’s endearing observations, maintaining the candor

that’s drawn people to his songwriting since his early work with indie rock band LVL UP.

Opener “In A Dream” best encapsulates Benton’s movement through the darker shades

of blue. Spanning seven minutes over a deep synth beat, the song follows Benton

through a frantic nighttime bike ride as he peers through the windows of a suburban

capitalist America, as well as the windows of his own mind. When an overlapping

inspiration of David Lynch’s noir thriller Blue Velvet and Bruce Springsteen’s 1987

album Tunnel of Love coalesced, Benton set out to create an ominous world driven by

synth leads and his stream of consciousness. The apex of the song is a triumphant

exhale. “We wanted that moment to feel like coming out of a dark tunnel,” Benton

remembers. “I think we achieved it.”

Similar sensations of eerie acceleration come from “Crawling Back To You,” the first

song written for the record while Benton was still in his relationship, restlessly

approaching his deepest shade of blue. Propelled by a hypnotic bass line, the song

speeds by as Benton explores the perfect storm of necessary conflict and

conflict-avoidance in romantic relationships. It served as a vessel to himself: “I was

really in complete denial about what the song is actually about. I've noticed a few

instances where things that I'm feeling but not consciously thinking come out in my

songs, and this is one of them.”

“Hard to Accept” and “Ponies” best represent the fusion of Trace Mountains sound from

past and present. Benton’s lo-fi pop tendencies become clearer pathways, embellished

by the impressive cast of collaborators he corralled to showcase his songwriting.

Vocalist Jill Ryan (of Great Time) adds breezy harmonies and a sprightly flute solo on

“Hard to Accept.” Meg Duffy (of Hand Habits) seals “Ponies” to a tight close with a

distorted guitar solo that careens around Benton’s vocals. Guitarists Jim Hill (Slight Of)

and Josh Marré (Blue Ranger) made their marks all throughout the album with e-bow

and electric licks. Logan Roth (Slaughter Beach, Dog) played synthesizers and piano

solos that bring a Bruce Hornsby vitality to Benton’s guitar-driven musings.

“Ponies” introduces Benton’s first glimpse of fresh air and acceptance. As the lyrical

crux of the album, it builds into its final chorus like a racing heart, with Benton reflecting:

“you just don’t know what there could be left to do / you tried, you did the best you could

/ but you’re off into the burning blue / you’re riding true like the ponies do.” As the album

continues, you start to feel him come up for more air. On the lush and downtempo “Melt”

he blooms into his violet shade as he pens an intimate expression of love and desire.

On the twangy “Gone & Done” he begins candidly with “hey now, look what you’ve gone

and done, caught me out having fun.”

With all the new production choices on the album, it was important to Benton that each

song had the integrity to stand alone in a stripped-back setting. Allowing Hendrix to take

the reins on the album’s adornments, Benton was able to create strong and simplistic

foundations. He recalls the Tom Petty-inspired “Friend” as his proudest and most honest

moment. “It feels like a song that could stand on its own without any of the extra

arrangement or accompaniment. That's an area in which I feel I've grown during the

making of this record so that song is symbolic to me.”

As Benton found himself among a major life shift, he found refuge and revelation in his

songwriting. He was thrust into new creative territories, resulting in an album that defies

the boundaries of his past work. Into the Burning Blue is a testament to moving forward

and keeping your eyes on the burning horizon line—capturing heartache, joy, and

growth in equal measure.

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