Ever since discovering the criminally underappreciated Spook Houses in 2011, I have paid close attention to the output of that bands driving force, Dave Benton. Although Spook Houses were relatively short lived over past handful of years Benton has simultaneously run the estimable New York label, Double Double Whammy  and issued a string of superb releases, with both LVL UP as well as his solo vehicle, Trace Mountains. On March 30th Benton will issue the first proper full length under Trace Mountains with, A Partner to Lean On through Figure 2 Rc.

I recently had the chance to chat with Dave Benton to discuss the creative process the led to A Partner To Lean On and the 3rd and the albums 3rd and final single , Salty Sweet.

I began recording some of the songs at home last year. Cary’s Dreams & Turn Twice came together first as bedroom recordings and informed the tone of the record. In the summer, my collaborator Jim Hill and I were able to get together with Kyle Seely & Nick Corbo to track drums & bass at Gravesend in Brooklyn. The rest of the recording was done pretty much alone at home. It came together pretty quickly.

I’m constantly writing, but not much of what I write makes it much further than little home recorded demos that no one ever hears. Often times these songs are chopped up & recycled into other tracks that may or may not make it onto a record. A Partner to Lean On recycles a lot of my older songs that I felt weren’t fully realized. I wanted to go back to that material not only to see it through, but also to save some newer material for future records.

I’d known that I wanted to redo Salty Sweet for a while and had a bunch of counter melodies to add in. The structure of the song is exactly the same, just a bit tighter and informed by the performative talents of Kyle & Nick.

Trace Mountains will be on the road to support the new set next month with a stop in Allston on April 9th.

Tour Dates:
03/31 Brooklyn, NY @ Alphaville *
04/06 Washington, DC @ DC9
04/07 Philadelphia, PA @ The Sound Hole
04/08 New Paltz, NY @ Nachohouse
04/09 Boston, MA @ Great Scott
04/10 Montréal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo
04/11 Toronto, ON @ Burdock
04/12 Rochester, NY @ Small World Books
* w/ Operator Music Band & Spirit Was

Photo Credit: Susannah Cutler