Trace Mountains, aka Dave Benton (formerly of LVL UP), released his new album Into The Burning Blue today via Lame-O Records. He made it with Craig Hendrix (Japanese Breakfast) and he describes its layered, heartland indie rock as “largely auto-biographical and very personal in nature,” having written it as he ended an eight-year relationship. Stream it below.
To celebrate the release of Into The Burning Blue, Benton made us a list of the influences behind it. Read that, and his commentary, below.
TRACE MOUNTAINS’ INTO THE BURNING BLUE INFLUENCES
Breakups
…Am I right?
Moving back in with my parents
Shortly before making this record I moved back in with my parents. At 32, the experience was as liberating as it was embarrassing. I didn’t know what I was doing with my life – and I still don’t, for the record – but it was awesome to have the freedom to write, travel and spend time on my music. The record definitely came out of a time when I was getting a lot of needed support from my family and I’m grateful for that.
Dreams
My friend Bernard showed me a podcast called “This Jungian Life” where these 3 psychologists talk about people’s dreams and dissect them for hidden meanings. It’s very entertaining. I would listen to that podcast on my drives down to Philadelphia where I was recording the record and I think dream symbolism / the idea of dreams in general definitely became one of the major themes on the album.
Music by peers & contemporary artists
I can’t ever underestimate the influence of friends and other contemporaries on my music. I’ve been a huge fan of MJ Lenderman for a while and all his music has been a huge inspiration, especially on the songwriting side of things… I’m also a big Japanese Breakfast fan and found myself obsessively listening to Michelle’s work in the time when I was writing Into The Burning Blue. I learned a great deal from listening to her vocal performances and the recordings owe a lot to that band’s influence.
Horses
So beautifullllll… They’re having a little moment now too! Or maybe they’re always having a moment… Regardless, I had fun playing with images of horses in the lyrics.
Open tunings
My friends Dan Goldberg & John Bohannon opened me up to the world of open tunings and it really jolted my brain into writing a few of these songs. “Friend” and “Ponies” specifically!
80’s pop music production
Oh yeah baby. Springsteen… Madonna… Prefab Sprout… The Cure… Into The Burning Blue is definitely my little 80’s moment. It took me a while, I’m 33 for god’s sake! But I had an 80’s phase last year and the music production of that era was a big topic of conversation with the record’s producer, Craig Hendrix.
My students
I wrote so many of these songs while leading my songwriting workshops, which I hold online on Zoom. My students rule and helping them with their music is super inspiring for me. The song “In A Dream” even came out of a writing prompt I got from one of my students (Ethan Bradley – AKA Wilson Ridge) wherein he gave me a field recording and asked me to work it into a soundscape. I chopped it up and made it part of this moving, churning instrumental layer in the recording. The song just grew bigger from there.
Philadelphia
Shout out to the great baristas at Reanimator Coffee on Master Street, the burger at Loco Pez and the sweet bartenders at The International Bar in Kensington. I loved making this record in a city that’s very near and dear to my heart. So many good friends put me up and made me food while I was there… And! Philly is home to Craig Hendrix, the greatest music producer a guy could ask for!
Going all-in
From the start of making this record, I decided I was going to pull out all the stops. I had a good recording budget, an incredibly talented team, and honestly, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do something like this again! I wanted to make the most of it.
Trace Mountains will be on tour in the US starting in October, including an NYC record release show at TV Eye on October 24 with Long Beard, and he’s also just announced some new 2025 dates supporting MJ Lenderman in the UK. See all dates below.
TRACE MOUNTAINS: 2024-2025 TOUR DATES
10/9 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
10/10 – Wilmington, NC @ Reggie’s
10/11 – Durham, NC @ Rubie’s
10/12 – Boone, NC @ Lily’s Snack Bar
10/13 – Asheville, NC @ Static Age Records
10/15 – Atlanta, GA @ Altar
10/16 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement
10/17 – Columbus, OH @ Space Bar
10/18 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR
10/19 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
10/20 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
10/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
10/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ TV Eye
10/25 – Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts
12/3 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s
12/4 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
12/6 – Arcata, CA @ Miniplex
12/7 – San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
12/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers
12/11 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
12/12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Linger Longer Lounge
5/29 – Bristol, UK @ The Fleece ^
5/30 – Brighton, UK @ CHALK ^
5/31 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms ^
6/2 – Glasgow, UK @ St. Lukes ^
6/3 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla ^
6/4 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom ^
^ supporting MJ Lenderman