In 2005, El Pino and the Volunteers release their debut EP Cougar on Stardumb Records, to wide critical acclaim. In the following year, they land a record deal with Excelsior Recordings after playing a truly monumental show at Dutch showcase festival Noorderslag. Later that year, they release their first full album, Molten City. The Dutch music press unanimously declares it a victory, with accolades such as “the best possible lesson in Americana” (3voor12), “passionate country-noir” (BN/De Stem), and “[an album] so carefully crafted that you can still hear the woodchips” (Oor). In October of 2006, El Pino and the Volunteers are presented with the prestigious Essent Award.

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So recklessly / She breaks my heart in two
Shares the parts / “one for me, one for you”

Under the soothing sounds of fingerpicked guitars and a banjo, El Pino and the Volunteers tell us stories of everyday life, intensely personal yet at once mutually shared. Tales of broken dreams, cheating hearts and above all, hope, Pino demonstrates what music can embody: joy, comfort and anticipation, all in one. United in a song you wish would never stop.

Molten City release party, August 2006

The authenticity of their Americana belies their unlikely birthplace. The group has its roots in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The kind of city built on industry and commerce, it is the kind of place where you would never choose to live but where you somehow ended up. David Pino draws his inspiration from this a gray urban landscape, with its decaying buildings, its anonymity and its unexpected encounters.
Pino and his Volunteers place the listener before an apparent paradox – American beauty from an unexpected place. Yet, this paradox proves imaginary. The depth and emotion in the songs shine through, and Pino’s heartfelt lyrics prove universal.

Molten City release party, August 2006

The night away / In streets, in bars / And underneath the stars / Hands caress / What they all mistook for dead / By fires and tides / You’ll feel alive / You’re revived / And it’s all right

At once, it hits you that these songs could be your life. The sharp pain of betrayal, a sudden feeling of isolation, falling in love, loneliness, hope, the tedious rhythm of our daily lives, interspersed only by the escape provided by the weekend. The human comedy unfolds, across towns, cities, countries and continents. And Pino’s molten city doesn’t seem that different from the desolate landscape of small town USA, in the end.

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Written by Casper Hoedemaekers
All photos courtesy of Daniel Baggerman