“Old Friends,” the opening track on Pinegrove’s superb debut album, Cardinal, from Montclair, New Jersey, blends all of the group’s best qualities.
There’s frontman Evan Stephens Hall’s golden voice with its country-Esque twang, soaring guitars that move up and down, and thoughtful lyrics that unveil themselves more with repeated listens. Zack Levine is the band’s drummer.
As Stephens Hall reflects on his small-town settings, he thinks, “How come every ending is such a letdown?” He has a strong desire to flee, but he also recognizes that this area will always be a part of him.
But “Old Friends” isn’t all doom and gloom. “I knew happiness when I saw it,” the singer says a positive notion that highlights a fundamental subject of discovering positivity in circumstances when it might somehow be challenging to make.
Hear the song here, as well as our recent conversation with Zack Levine and Stephens Hall, the band’s drummer. According to Evan, the group went to middle and high school together and had the advantage because their parents knew each other.
