With their new album 11:11 arriving later this month, Pinegrove have followed up recent single “Alaska” with a new one called “Respirate”. Evan Stephens Hall says:
“With ‘Respirate,’ I was thinking about the opportunity we had in the chaos Covid brought to redesign society so that it works well for more people, but that instead what’s unfolding is a doubling down on the same bent and venal structures that have resulted in so much inequity in the first place. So, how can we compassionately respond to such cold and blatant greed? How can we make sure to look out for one another in the absence of meaningful leadership and materially significant policy? We’ve been stranded but we will look out for each other—what choice do we have? The song is a reminder that we’re in this together.”
A complete about face from the brash “Alaska”, “Respirate” is the kind of salve that Pinegrove have proven themselves masters of producing. Explicitly acknowledging “when Corona hit / I was already feeling pretty out of it,” the song rings with the weariness that this last two years has exacted on all of us (or at least those of us with a consciousness). As ever, Pinegrove manage to find that magical balance where the strain is palpable in the song, but hope and warmth overcomes it by the song’s conclusion. With organ adding stateliness to their overwhelming chug and message of “do your best to respirate”, it truly feels like a lesson of hard-earned tranquility in a world of shit, which will resonate deeply in the hearts and minds of listeners.
Listen to “Respirate” below or on streaming platforms.
Pinegrove’s new album 11:11 will be out on January 28 through Rough Trade (pre-order/save). You can find Pinegrove on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
