Marigold is the fourth studio album by Pinegrove, released through Rough Trade Records on January 17, 2020. The album was produced by the band's frontman, singer-songwriter Evan Stephens Hall, as well as guitarist Sam Skinner. As with the band's previous album, Marigold was recorded and mixed at Amperland, a rural farmhouse occupied by the group in upstate New York.
Marigold is the band's first full-length on Rough Trade, with whom they signed in 2019.
Background
Pinegrove formed in 2010 in Montclair, New Jersey, and rose to prominence in the mid-2010s on the strength of their debut album, Cardinal (2016), as well as its follow-up effort, Skylight (2018). Marigold was recorded between May 2018 to February 2019, and followed for Hall "a period of intense self-reflection". As with its predecessor, the LP was recorded at the band's home studio, Amperland, a rural farmhouse shared by Hall and Nick Levine located in Kinderhook, a town in upstate New York. Pitchfork writer Jenn Pelly called Amperland a "spacious, light-filled house" in a "a small, sleepy country town a few hours north of Manhattan."[1] Writer Mark Moody describes it "the same stone's throw distance from the Hudson River as The Band's Big Pink."[2] A press release accompanying the album's announcement dubbed it an "urgent, multivalent meditation". "The Alarmist", a semi-acoustic song set in 6 8 time,[3] was described by Hall as "the negotiation of space between two people — balancing comfort and closeness with a need for independence."[4] "Moment", likewise, represents "a way of thinking about gratitude in the context of chaos or tedium."[5] "Phase" was inspired by insomnia, and the anxieties and thoughts a person cycles through when unable to sleep.[6] "Alcove" was inspired by a trip to visit Hall's extended family in California.[3] Journalist Kelefa Sanneh describes the penultimate song, "Neighbor", as an allegory for deceased animals, and the closing title track as a "meditative six-minute instrumental [...] during which the band cycles slowly between chords."[3]
The band released "Moment", the album's lead single, and announced their new partnership with Rough Trade, on August 28, 2019.[5] Two months later, the band issued a second single, "Phase", and announced the LP proper and its accompanying tour.[6] Shortly before the album's release, the band released a third advance track, "The Alarmist".[4] In promotion of the album, Pinegrove will embark on a tour across North American in February 2020, accompanied by Lake and Whitney Ballen, followed by a European tour between March and April 2020, alongside Buck Meek and Katy J Pearson.[6]
Marigold has received positive notices from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 76 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on 15 reviews.[8] Mark Moody, reviewing for the magazine Under the Radar, complimented the band's musical progression, calling it Pinegrove's "tightest recorded moments to date on display [...] Marigold unfolds with a feeling of more substance than what came before it."[2] Bud Scoppa of Uncut extolled Marigold as a "vibrantly empathetic experience" aided by its "mournful pedal steel, keening harmonies and thumping analogue rhythms,"[18] while Jenny Bulley of Mojo felt it captured the "guileless spirit of mid-'90s alt rock."[13] A Rolling Stone blurb likened the album's sound to the Promise Ring, and praised its "heartwarming" nature.[17] Sanneh, in a profile of the band for The New Yorker, described the LP as "noticeably more stoic," singling out "The Alarmist" for praise.[3]
Timothy Monger from AllMusic observed that Marigold "offers no major surprises or alterations in the band's sound, just quality songwriting and a rather remarkable consistency."[9] Though Jon Young, writing for Consequence of Sound, considered Hall's lyricism self-absorbed, he felt Marigold showcased the group "weaving a lovely tapestry of electric guitars shaded by occasional streaks of alt-country."[11] Reporter Bobby Olivier for NJ.com panned the album, suggesting it sounded "boring" and would be met with "measured appreciation but limited passion."[19]NME contributor Jordan Bassett too found the album "boring," writing that the band's "flashy radicalism [has been] muted into a more subtle, less immediate aesthetic."[14]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Evan Stephens Hall, except "Alcove", written by Evan Stephens Hall with Josh Marré
