by Sebastian Mackay
Songwriting is about exposing yourself to the world and hoping they’ll take you for who you are. There are, of course, always those who won’t. But when people do, they’ll not only buy your music and t-shirts but they’ll have your words and, sometimes, album covers tattooed on their skins forever. Perhaps the biggest compliment for any artist and it’s one that Pentimento is seeing more and more of. That said, exposing your inner thoughts and feelings for people to connect to is more of a journey without a tangible destination than a balancing act of what should and shouldn’t be exposed.
“I couldn’t honestly tell you that we’ve found that balance on Inside The Sea or on anything we’ve done for that matter.” The words belong to Mike Hansen Pentimento’s drummer. “What’s more is I’m not sure anyone ever truly finds it. I think it’s something every artist can see in the distance of the mind’s eye when you create something, and even though you’ll never reach it, you’re still on the way.”
For the band, what they write is what you hear and Hansen says the point is to not change at all.
“That’s the effort you make to keep it real. I guess I’d say that the particular thoughts and or feelings don’t change at all, but there’s certainly a lot of editing done.”
The editing is all about cohesion, creating the mood and bringing the thoughts and music inline to tell the story.
“What I love about music so much is the ability to have the instruments support the story, or vice versa.” It’s the rawness, the story, the pursuit of connection (and Hansen’s brilliant manning of the band’s twitter account) that have helped the band create such a tangible connection with their audience.
“The list would go on forever, but simply put, we’re people, too,” Hansen says on why a connection to their fans is so important. “I think what we seek as individuals (we as in the whole wide world, not just our band) is to make connections with others.”
Inside the Sea was the band’s October release and Hansen says it’s important to “do your best as a band to step up your game in every sense with each release. We’re on this weird journey right now about the art or craft of songwriting and this EP is a stab at moving forward with that.”
Their evolution as a band across releases has put them in a place where they can exposure their feelings without shutting down through fear of vulnerability. “I think that by this point, we’re comfortable enough with each other and with that the studio experience has to offer to maintain a certain level of sanity.”
Hansen says Pentimento is always working on new material but in the meantime, they’re touring their first album, a self titled release, (including hitting Philly) and looking to promote Inside the Sea as much as possible. The band will be at The Barbary on the 16th.
