"11:11" by Pinegrove
On January 28, 2022, the American rock band Pinegrove released their fifth studio album, 11:11. To many of their devoted fans, the album was a bit of a letdown. Their single “Alaska '' was released back in November 2021 and it took on a newer feel and style that made many excited for the upcoming album. On the album, with its upbeat, catchy rhythms, it demonstrated the best parts of Pinegrove’s indie rock sound. The lyrics take on the mood of a coming-of-age or teen love story; when lead singer Evan Stephens Hall asks if he “can leave the canopy forever?” the universal feelings of adolescent fears create a deeper connection to the audience. More of Pinegrove’s alternative, country, and rock sounds collide in “Alaska”, making it one of their more experimental and dynamic songs. Slowing down from the excitement of “Alaska”, “Iodine” explores the innermost thoughts and struggles of love within Hall. The song echoes Pinegrove’s classic sound, with its simple but melodic guitar and introspective lyrics. This, combined with the yearning of the melody that builds through the drumming, makes it one of the best songs on the album.
The next song, “Orange,” continues the flow of relevant and profound themes as the songwriter addresses climate change. Singing how “the sky is orange” and mentioning the actions of ignorant senators makes the song more daring, more urgent in its subject matter. There is a lack of singer-songwriter Evan Stephans Hall’s usual metaphors which makes the song’s directness a nice shift from the band’s trademark ambiguous lyricism. However, for nearly the next four songs (excluding “Respirate”), the flow begins to lull. The familiar structures and melodies of Pinegrove change very little and it drags down the previous momentum that was building all the way from “Alaska.” The band sticks too close to their comfort sounds, and, while some of their best musical pieces come from the combination of alternative rock, country, or midwest emo, these five songs box themselves into only one of those genres.
The album comes to a close with its titular song “11:11” and the final tone of soft folk rock leaves the listener (or at least me) feeling a bit unsatisfied. The song has a very abrupt ending which could have been a great point from cathartic build up, except that the slow melodies that preceded it were lacking dimension and interesting character. If anything exciting came from this album, it would be the experimental qualities held in songs such as “Alaska,” “Iodine,” or “Orange,” and, hopefully, the band explores more of their combined-genre sound to develop different lyrical styles in the future.
- Mia Huerta