{"product_id":"trace-mountains-lost-in-the-country-2026-reissue","title":"Trace Mountains - Lost in the Country (2026 Reissue)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"521\"\u003eUnder the moniker \u003cstrong data-start=\"18\" data-end=\"37\"\u003eTrace Mountains\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"39\" data-end=\"54\"\u003eDave Benton\u003c\/strong\u003e writes music that asks large questions in quietly profound ways. On the project’s earliest release, the 2014 compilation \u003cem data-start=\"176\" data-end=\"207\"\u003eButtery Sprouts \u0026amp; Other Songs\u003c\/em\u003e, these thoughts appeared as lo-fi scraps of wit and tenderness. But by the time \u003cem data-start=\"288\" data-end=\"310\"\u003eA Partner to Lean On\u003c\/em\u003e, Trace Mountains’ debut full-length, arrived in 2018, Benton’s perceptive indie rock had matured into more existential meditations about identity, existence and finding sense in an increasingly chaotic world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"523\" data-end=\"952\"\u003eIn the two years since \u003cem data-start=\"546\" data-end=\"568\"\u003eA Partner to Lean On\u003c\/em\u003e, Benton’s life has undergone several large changes, namely the dissolution of \u003cstrong data-start=\"647\" data-end=\"657\"\u003eLVL UP\u003c\/strong\u003e, the indie rock quartet he co-founded in college, and a move to Kingston, a small city in New York’s Hudson Valley. Composed during, but not directly inspired by, this transition, Trace Mountains’ second record, \u003cem data-start=\"870\" data-end=\"891\"\u003eLost in the Country\u003c\/em\u003e, reflects Benton’s need to reconnect with his inner world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"954\" data-end=\"1316\"\u003ePrompted by an urge to access a more authentic voice, \u003cem data-start=\"1008\" data-end=\"1029\"\u003eLost in the Country\u003c\/em\u003e finds Benton digging deeper into candid songwriting. “I wanted to open myself up and write lyrics that are a little bit more direct,” he explains. “I write a lot of songs that are about myself and a lot of songs that aren’t, but on this record, the focus is turned inward either way.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1318\" data-end=\"1638\"\u003eThe result is Trace Mountains’ strongest and most assured record yet, 10 songs driven by a desire for introspection and self-discovery. The backdrop for this insularity is an expanse of wide blue skies, seas of trees and winding roads, ideal locales for thoughts to blossom into greater reflections of the outer world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1640\" data-end=\"2062\"\u003eThe slow-burning \u003cem data-start=\"1657\" data-end=\"1668\"\u003eAbsurdity\u003c\/em\u003e, which Benton modestly says is about “hiking and standing in the country,” uses the sublimity of the wilderness to comment on technology’s inescapable presence. Similarly, the driving opener \u003cem data-start=\"1860\" data-end=\"1873\"\u003eRock \u0026amp; Roll\u003c\/em\u003e transforms the premise of a “simple song about being a rocker” into a stream-of-consciousness, apocalyptic poem about delusions, regrets and getting lost in your own limited perspective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2064\" data-end=\"2398\"\u003eThis self-examination culminates with the record’s ambitious and anthemic title track. Channeling the cosmic sprawl of \u003cstrong data-start=\"2183\" data-end=\"2203\"\u003eThe War on Drugs\u003c\/strong\u003e or \u003cstrong data-start=\"2207\" data-end=\"2220\"\u003eKurt Vile\u003c\/strong\u003e, Benton recalls a moment of deep loneliness and depression outside a concert venue in the Netherlands, and how an unexpected moment of compassion led to a moment of awakening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2400\" data-end=\"2724\"\u003eDespite its frequently bucolic setting, \u003cem data-start=\"2440\" data-end=\"2461\"\u003eLost in the Country\u003c\/em\u003e’s underlying current is an urgent commitment to Trace Mountains and “finding a creative process that requires me to be honest with myself.” “I know I sing to forget, I sing to hold my breath, to feel the thumping in my chest,” Benton sings on \u003cem data-start=\"2705\" data-end=\"2721\"\u003eCooper’s Dream\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2726\" data-end=\"3231\"\u003eThis line is “rooted in the importance of music in my life, it’s definitely a reflection on that and how I can keep it in my life, because if I’m not careful and I don’t nurture it, I could lose it.” The self-imposed pressure has been empowering for Benton. “I really like having full control in making a record, deciding what songs are going to be on it, as well as shaping the vibe or narrative of the whole thing,” he says. “It brings a peace of mind knowing that I am responsible for just my voice.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3233\" data-end=\"3692\"\u003eWhile Benton is Trace Mountains’ songwriter, he asserts that \u003cem data-start=\"3294\" data-end=\"3315\"\u003eLost in the Country\u003c\/em\u003e is by no means a solo effort. Collaboration is crucial to the project and Benton is quick to credit the contributions of his bandmates, which include \u003cstrong data-start=\"3466\" data-end=\"3478\"\u003eJim Hill\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cstrong data-start=\"3482\" data-end=\"3495\"\u003eSlight Of\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"3497\" data-end=\"3512\"\u003eGreg Rutkin\u003c\/strong\u003e of LVL UP and \u003cstrong data-start=\"3527\" data-end=\"3536\"\u003eCende\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"3538\" data-end=\"3552\"\u003eSean Henry\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong data-start=\"3557\" data-end=\"3576\"\u003eSusannah Cutler\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cstrong data-start=\"3580\" data-end=\"3607\"\u003eYours Are the Only Ears\u003c\/strong\u003e. “It’s definitely our record,” he says. “I couldn’t make this thing without them.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3694\" data-end=\"4106\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eAfter beginning the recording process at Brooklyn’s \u003cstrong data-start=\"3746\" data-end=\"3758\"\u003eStudio G\u003c\/strong\u003e with engineer \u003cstrong data-start=\"3773\" data-end=\"3789\"\u003eMatt Labozza\u003c\/strong\u003e, Benton finished \u003cem data-start=\"3807\" data-end=\"3828\"\u003eLost in the Country\u003c\/em\u003e at his home studio in Kingston, where he also added contributions from \u003cstrong data-start=\"3900\" data-end=\"3916\"\u003eCarmen Perry\u003c\/strong\u003e (voice), \u003cstrong data-start=\"3926\" data-end=\"3941\"\u003eStew Cutler\u003c\/strong\u003e (guitar, lap steel), \u003cstrong data-start=\"3963\" data-end=\"3979\"\u003eDan Goldberg\u003c\/strong\u003e (synthesizer) and \u003cstrong data-start=\"3998\" data-end=\"4008\"\u003eARTHUR\u003c\/strong\u003e (samples, \u003cem data-start=\"4019\" data-end=\"4023\"\u003eAB\u003c\/em\u003e by ARTHUR). It was then mixed by \u003cstrong data-start=\"4057\" data-end=\"4072\"\u003eMike Ditrio\u003c\/strong\u003e and mastered by \u003cstrong data-start=\"4089\" data-end=\"4105\"\u003eRyan Schwabe\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"RUN FOR COVER","offers":[{"title":"Coke Bottle Green Vinyl LP","offer_id":58061706101081,"sku":"SDZ-45947","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/CAR_20260514_1200_120249_203_v_0811408035781_004.jpg?v=1778773438","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/trace-mountains-lost-in-the-country-2026-reissue","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}