Blockhouse Valley fully embraces the dark side on “In the Pines.”
The Metro Detroit quartet of Ashleigh Glass (vocals), Cody Cooper (mandolin, guitar), Jon Howard (guitar), and Danny Steinkopf (upright bass) explores a wicked tale about a sinister woman and her late husband on its bewitching rendition of the traditional folk song.
“This song contains a lot of imagery in the lyrics that’s unapologetic in its darkness,” Glass said. “You don’t always see that in traditional tunes that have survived through generations of public sensibilities.”
Surrounded by vigilant acoustic guitar, mandolin, and bass, Glass sings, “Her husband was a hardworking man / Just about a mile from here / His head was found in a driving wheel / But his body was never found.”
“We wanted to highlight that darkness in this recording and the sense that the woman in this song is not a person that should be taken lightly,” she said.
To learn more, I spoke with Glass about the Americana group’s latest single ahead of a September 21 live set at Adrian’s Artalicious Fine Arts Fair.
The Stratton Setlist 