A NEW CHAPTER IN BLOOM
istening to – the fourth album from New Jersey alt-country titans Pinegrove – elicits a certain feeling of warmth; comfort; an affirmation that you’re not alone in whatever personal storms you’re currently weathering. The band achieve this by minimising the distance between us and frontman Evan Hall. On previous records, the outfit would revel in the breadth and looseness of a lo-fi mix – Hall says that 2018’s , for example, “was supposed to sound like you’re just in the room with us rehearsing” – which made them fun to listen to, but difficult to connect with. But on , Hall’s vocals are emphatically more distinct; it’s as if he’s singing directly to us, the instrumental backings merely a bed for us to lie on together as he does.
