By Monica Pizzo
Spring and summertime means warm air wrapping around you, starry nights sitting on the hood of a car and endless road trips to nowhere with people you love. There is nothing quite comparable to the ambience summer brings, but Pinegrove comes close to that distinct feeling, translating it into music that will be your new summer soundtrack.
Pinegrove is a duo from Montclair, New Jersey, who meshes indie influences with alternative country and Americana sounds to create a sound that is wholly unique to them. Guitarist and singer Evan Stephens Hall and drummer Zack Levine, along with occasional cameos from their friends, comprise the band.
The duo met through their fathers when they were young because they were in a country band together. Both of their fathers appear on their latest album, Cardinal, which is by far their most popular album yet. Their conversational style makes the album incredibly genuine and impossible for you to listen to just one track.
The band began their career after college when they moved to Brooklyn together to pursue music. They played random clubs for a while, but their careers didn’t truly take off until they started playing even smaller gigs.
“That’s sort of when we turned it around, when we started playing basements, these shows that were also events or parties and started interacting with people,” Hall said in an interview with Noisey. “As soon as we started prioritizing the community aspect, that’s when we started gaining momentum.”
Hall left Brooklyn after a short while, as it was not cohesive to his writing. He moved back to Montclair, leaving Levine in New York City, to write songs and truly immerse himself in his music. This method has been effective, as the duo released Everything So Far, technically their second album after self-releasing an LP called Meridian in 2012.
They released Cardinal on Run For Cover Records in 2016, which became their most recognized album to date. It gained them immense popularity within and outside of their smaller fanbase that they worked so hard to build.
Hall told Spin about the album, “The album’s a lot about place. A lot about traveling, but also a lot about Montclair.”
You can feel this sense of travelling and home in their lyrics. There’s a nostalgia that comes through as well as a sense of wonder and newness.
Pinegrove is a band of genuine people who value community, interconnectivity and realness in their sound. This is portrayed through every track they put out, Hall and Levine pouring themselves into each and every beat. To experience their sound click here for their Spotify.
Featured Photo Credit: Courtesy of Pinegrove’s Facebook page.
Monica Pizzo is a freshman journalism major and can be reached at mpizzo@terpmail.umd.edu.
