"Cardinal" is the second studio album by American rock band Pinegrove, rele… Read Full Bio ↴"Cardinal" is the second studio album by American rock band Pinegrove, released February 12, 2016 on Run for Cover. Pinegrove formed in Montclair, New Jersey in 2010, and spent their early years self-releasing their music and performing at DIY shows. Their first record, "Meridian", was released in 2012, and later compiled into the mixtape "Everything So Far". In the early 2010s, the members relocated from their hometown of Montclair to Brooklyn, New York. The band's frontman, singer-songwriter Evan Stephens Hall, however, decided to return home, where he and drummer Zack Levine produced "Cardinal".
"Cardinal" was recorded in the duo's parents' basements in Montclair. Hall wrote the lyrics for the album, which are semi-autobiographical and touch on themes of love, space, and distance. The album's cover art, also designed by Hall, intends to capture these subjects via two interconnected squares. Pinegrove signed to independent record label Run for Cover to release "Cardinal", which was issued on February 12, 2016. It received acclaim from music critics, and was featured on many year-end "best of" lists by national media. To promote the album, Pinegrove toured extensively in both the U.S. and Europe. Likewise, an expanded edition of "Cardinal" was released only in Australia, featuring additional content.
"Cardinal" was recorded in Levine and Hall's parents' basements in Montclair, with additional recording taking place at the Owlery in Chicago, Illinois. Following the album's completion, Hall shared the album with friends and family, including Cam Boucher of the band Sorority Noise. Boucher encouraged Hall to connect with Run for Cover Records, which eventually signed the band in 2015.
"Cardinal" is a semi-autobiographical work, though Hall was careful not to depict his friends or family without their consent. "On the one hand you’re always looking for interesting content that speaks to the human condition but on then on the other, your friends don’t really want to be objectified like that," he said in an interview not long after the album's release. When creating the album, Hall would walk around Montclair's Brookdale Park on a nightly basis. His return to his hometown inspired the album thematically, as well as the concept of distance and space. Love is a main component of the album's contents as well: "These are love songs, but more broadly than romantic love. These are about platonic and familial love, and about approaching everyone you know, but especially everyone you don’t know with respect," Hall said.
The cover art of "Cardinal", designed by Hall, depicts two red squares intertwined on a gray background. It reflects Hall's interest in simple colors and shapes, imagery which defined the band since the beginning. In addition, several lyrics on the album reference the color red either directly or through metaphor, most notably in "Cadmium" and "Waveform". Likewise, the album's title references the color of a cardinal, which Hall interpreted as a harbinger of creativity. Hall's inspiration for the cover included the writer George Saunders. "I sort of imagined that square number one in the lower left-hand side is a letter that I’m writing and then the second squares shows that I’m sending it off and my words are traveling."
"Cardinal" was critically well-received, garnering acclaim from several prominent critics and music publications. Pitchfork's Ian Cohen wrote that ""Cardinal" feels like one big determined push outward, an album-length fight against solipsism without losing your sense of self in the process." Collin Brennan at Consequence of Sound described it as an album "that keeps one foot in the past but occasionally looks toward the future with loud guitars, uplifting choruses, and a prevailing sense that life is best listened to with the volume turned all the way up." Colin Joyce, writing for Spin, dubbed the record "emotionally direct and endearing," and commented, "It feels bold, somehow, to make a record like this." Josh Terry of the Chicago Tribune was effusive, opining that "With "Cardinal", I don't think there's a more confident display of a new songwriting talent in recent memory."
"Cardinal" was recorded in the duo's parents' basements in Montclair. Hall wrote the lyrics for the album, which are semi-autobiographical and touch on themes of love, space, and distance. The album's cover art, also designed by Hall, intends to capture these subjects via two interconnected squares. Pinegrove signed to independent record label Run for Cover to release "Cardinal", which was issued on February 12, 2016. It received acclaim from music critics, and was featured on many year-end "best of" lists by national media. To promote the album, Pinegrove toured extensively in both the U.S. and Europe. Likewise, an expanded edition of "Cardinal" was released only in Australia, featuring additional content.
"Cardinal" was recorded in Levine and Hall's parents' basements in Montclair, with additional recording taking place at the Owlery in Chicago, Illinois. Following the album's completion, Hall shared the album with friends and family, including Cam Boucher of the band Sorority Noise. Boucher encouraged Hall to connect with Run for Cover Records, which eventually signed the band in 2015.
"Cardinal" is a semi-autobiographical work, though Hall was careful not to depict his friends or family without their consent. "On the one hand you’re always looking for interesting content that speaks to the human condition but on then on the other, your friends don’t really want to be objectified like that," he said in an interview not long after the album's release. When creating the album, Hall would walk around Montclair's Brookdale Park on a nightly basis. His return to his hometown inspired the album thematically, as well as the concept of distance and space. Love is a main component of the album's contents as well: "These are love songs, but more broadly than romantic love. These are about platonic and familial love, and about approaching everyone you know, but especially everyone you don’t know with respect," Hall said.
The cover art of "Cardinal", designed by Hall, depicts two red squares intertwined on a gray background. It reflects Hall's interest in simple colors and shapes, imagery which defined the band since the beginning. In addition, several lyrics on the album reference the color red either directly or through metaphor, most notably in "Cadmium" and "Waveform". Likewise, the album's title references the color of a cardinal, which Hall interpreted as a harbinger of creativity. Hall's inspiration for the cover included the writer George Saunders. "I sort of imagined that square number one in the lower left-hand side is a letter that I’m writing and then the second squares shows that I’m sending it off and my words are traveling."
"Cardinal" was critically well-received, garnering acclaim from several prominent critics and music publications. Pitchfork's Ian Cohen wrote that ""Cardinal" feels like one big determined push outward, an album-length fight against solipsism without losing your sense of self in the process." Collin Brennan at Consequence of Sound described it as an album "that keeps one foot in the past but occasionally looks toward the future with loud guitars, uplifting choruses, and a prevailing sense that life is best listened to with the volume turned all the way up." Colin Joyce, writing for Spin, dubbed the record "emotionally direct and endearing," and commented, "It feels bold, somehow, to make a record like this." Josh Terry of the Chicago Tribune was effusive, opining that "With "Cardinal", I don't think there's a more confident display of a new songwriting talent in recent memory."
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Cardinal
Pinegrove Lyrics
Aphasia So satisfied I said a lot of things tonight So…
Cadmium i was walking with my neck out some ways i wish…
New Friends Is there anyone here I know I look around the room Whatever…
Old Friends Walking outside labyrinthine Over cracks along under the tre…
Size of the Moon do you wanna dance? fine. but do you remember when in your…
Then Again i was totally nervous to go to japan i tried travel…
Visiting i'm spectral for days on end these days with thoughts about…
Waveform on a page torn from this book i drew a waveform…