História rock and rollu je plná príkladov kapiel, ktorých oddanosť ich remeslu viedla k radikálnej reštrukturalizácii ich kolektívneho života.To sa pohybuje od útulného rozkladu výstupu kapely z Big Pink, až po zlovestný totalitarizmus kapitána Beefhearta a otca Yoda.

V centrálnom nervovom systéme The Pines sa nachádza v The Lodge - starý slobodomurársky chrám prepracovaný ako viacúčelový priestor cez rieku z Cincinnati v Dayton, KY. Skupina zaberá roh suterénu v tomto rozľahlom bludisku, kde prevádzkujú a prevádzkujú Foleytronics - butikový vintage pro audio opravárenský obchod a jeden z niekoľkých podobných obchodov na svete, ktoré môžu prevádzkovať a opravovať vintage digitálne efekty. Prirodzeným vedľajším produktom tohto obchodu je ich štúdio v suteréne spolužiaka Petra, miestnosť plná rôznych vintage efektov, páskových strojov a syntetizátorov, kde nahrávali a vyrábali Sunbeam Dream v celom rozsahu. Všetky nahrávacie zariadenia používané

The recording process allowed In the Pines to obsess over the minutiae for the first time - entire days spent on finding the correct acoustic guitar sound only to land on a piece of Scotch tape spread across the strings; hours that would be considered a luxury in other studios focused on trying out various cymbal combinations for a chorus or bridge. Just like they did with their repair shop, the band created a recording space where hyperfocus and attention to detail are not only allowed, but fully embraced.

The result of this obsessive level of control is In The Pines' most accomplished work to date. Sunbeam Dream takes the band’s shoegaze-informed psych rock and raises the bar. With a heavier emphasis on synths moving from a textural element to a main character in the band’s sound (courtesy of a 1971 resuscitated Mellotron), the band stakes a claim in the lineage of  the grandeur and grit of albums like The Verve’s A Northern Soul or The Charlatans (UK) self-titled album where both bands’ production seemed to match their creative vision. With Sunbeam Dream, everything feels both brighter, crisper while at the same time delightfully swimming in a twilight haze that surrounds each element. From Michael’s voice cutting through with incisive clarity against the frantic lead on the self-titled track, to the slow-burn staccato on “Reticon” - a track which particularly shines a spotlight on Peter - with transcendent synths and a nod to Kid A’s computer speak pathology.

More pastoral moods arise in the album’s engaging middle with “Time Shakes” and “Delirium” pushing the band into straight-forward psych territory while maintaining a thick shoegaze crunch. As a statement of purpose, “Hide The Sky” and “Oubliette” speak with the most alacrity. The phrase “the clouds can’t hide the sky from me” seem to come into the world fully formed - these are songs that can be played on acoustic guitars but are at home in a nest of buzzing synths, crashing cymbals and crushing guitars.

The album ends on “All This Noise” - a track that thematically seems to bend itself to the way this album was created. Peace, focus and time-slowing attention as antidotes to the constant swirl of noise that calls us away from the kind of work that we really love - limitations and all. The work - if it can be called work - becomes a dream shot to us directly (PKD style) in the full spectrum light of a sunbeam.