11:11 (Pinegrove album)

May 2025 11:11 studio Pinegrove 11-11 - Pinegrove.jpg January 28, 2022 Levon Helm Studios (Woodstock, New York) The Building (Marlboro, New York) Americana emo indie rock 38:58 Rough Trade Evan Stephens Hall Sam Skinner Amperland, NY 2021 11:11 studio Orange August 25, 2021 Alaska November 11, 2021 Respirate January 6, 2022 Habitat January 26, 2022 11:11 is the fifth studio album by Pinegrove, released through Rough Trade Records on January 28, 2022. The album was produced by the band's frontman, singer-songwriter Evan Stephens Hall, as well as guitarist Sam Skinner. It is the final album to feature drummer Zack Levine, who left the band in April 2023. For their next effort, the group eschewed their typical home settings for a proper studio for the first time, aiming for a less restrained approach to recording. To this end, they enlisted their first outside collaborator to mix the album—Chris Walla, best known for his work with Death Cab for Cutie. Much of the album was tracked at two upstate New York locations, with some remote work necessary as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lyrics on the album touch on those hardships, but mainly center on environmental issues and governmental inaction. Its palindromic title returns to the band's interest in symmetry, with its green-colored artwork harkening back to its ecological themes. Upon its release, it received favorable reviews, with critics complimenting its lyrical messages and musicianship. Background The album was largely recorded at a pair of upstate New York facilities: the Building in Marlboro and at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, an 18-acre complex named for the former drummer of the Band. It was the group's first proper "studio" recording, as all previous releases were recorded in home settings. The band began recording the album in September 2020, in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hall, Levine, and Skinner convened at Levon Helm to record basic tracks, with several other contributors stopping by for a day at a time to contribute.11:11 is the first album by the band to feature contributions from bassist Megan Benavente, who recorded her sections remotely from Los Angeles. She digitally sent the team her improvisational bass parts, which the band "cobbled together [into] something very interesting and melodic," according to Hall. While previous Pinegrove releases were mixed by Sam Skinner, the band sought a "messier" approach to the sonic texture of 11:11, in contrast to more polished production of the past. To this end, they enlisted producer and former Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla, who oversaw mixing of the album at his Seattle studio. In a press statement, Hall summarized the album's themes: "It spends equal time on optimism, community, reaffirming our human duty to look out for one another even in the absence of the people we expect to do those things. What if we have to be our own salvation?"https://www.nme.com/news/music/pinegrove-announce-new-album-1111-with-first-single-alaska-3093133 Pinegrove announce new album '11:11' with first single 'Alaska' November 11, 2021 Will Richards NME November 11, 2021 The band issued "Orange", the first single from 11:11, on August 25, 2021;https://consequence.net/2021/08/pinegrove-orange-stream/ Pinegrove Share Climate Change Protest Song "Orange": Stream August 25, 2021 Abby Jones Consequence of Sound November 11, 2021 an album announcement and pre-order took place on November 11 (or 11:11), alongside the release of second single "Alaska". Themes and artwork thumb|Throughout the album, Hall makes reference to nature; pictured is the Ashokan Reservoir in New York. Singer-songwriter Evan Stephens Hall composed 11:11 at what he called "a real inflection point in my life, where politics became less of a discrete and separate category and more of a superimposition over every aspect of living." Specifically, Hall had grown frustrated with political inaction with regard to racial unrest, mismanagement of the pandemic, and the climate crisis.https://americansongwriter.com/pinegrove-enlightens-on-new-album-1111/ Pinegrove Enlightens on New Album '11:11' January 31, 2022 Madeline Crone American Songwriter February 1, 2022 Consequently, much of 11:11 focuses thematically on the natural world, both celebrating its beauty and destruction at the hands of humanity. Much of 11:11 consists of concise, mid-tempo songs, save for its opener, "Habitat", which runs six minutes long.https://www.njarts.net/pinegrove-gets-introspective-but-also-expresses-alarm-about-environment-on-new-album-1111/ Pinegrove gets introspective but also expresses alarm about environment on new album '11:11' Jim Testa January 29, 2022 February 4, 2022 NJArts.com Hall intended for the song to function as an overture, introducing the listener to the album's concepts. "Alaska" takes place on an airplane operated by a sleeping pilot, flying diagonally across America. The narrator describes grids of trees and cornfields repeating like numerical patterns. Hall described the song as a pre-emptive mourning of these landscapes in the context of escalating climate change. He likened the "strangely liminal space" of an aircraft cabin "a metaphor for how time has felt" during the pandemic.https://www.npr.org/2021/11/15/1055915008/new-mix-big-thief-pinegrove-facesoul-maia-friedman-more New Mix: Big Thief, Pinegrove, FACESOUL, Maia Friedman, more Bob Boilen November 16, 2021 November 29, 2021 NPR "Orange" more directly tackles these issues, with its title referring to the smoke-filled hue given to skies over the state of Oregon due to wildfires. It expresses frustration at government passivity, with Hall calling "to affirm community, to step in and help one another cope in the absence of our government, and take seriously the need to organize for a better world."https://www.nme.com/news/music/pinegrove-return-with-new-single-orange-a-waltz-about-the-climate-crisis-3029582 Pinegrove return with new single 'Orange', a "waltz about the climate crisis" David James Young NME August 26, 2021 November 29, 2021 Hall mulls over the pandemic's effect on everyday life in "Respirate", while "Flora" finds the narrator taking a walk in the woods, observing that "nothing's shining like I feel like it should." The album's title is a palindrome, and its cover artwork depicts the title superimposed between squares; both concepts reflects the band's long-held interest in symmetry and geometry. While previous Pinegrove album artwork follow primary colors (according to a color wheel), the sleeve of 11:11 marks a move towards secondary colors, in this case green. Hall adopted the concept from fans speculating online in the lead-up to the album's release, recognizing that it creatively worked within themes the album already explores, namely the climate crisis.https://www.theaquarian.com/2022/01/26/talking-1111-the-album-that-turned-pinegroves-house-into-a-home/ Talking '11:11' – The Album That Turned Pinegrove's House Into a Home January 26, 2022 Debra Kate Schafer The Aquarian January 26, 2022 Madeline Crone at American Songwriter felt that the visual of the title itself evokes a row of pine trees. Reception 73/100https://www.metacritic.com/music/1111/pinegrove 11:11 by Pinegrove Reviews and Tracks Metacritic January 31, 2024 AllMusic 4 5https://www.allmusic.com/album/11-11-mw0003620823 11:11 – Pinegrove AllMusic Donelson Marcy January 29, 2022 Paste 7.8/10 Pitchfork 7.1/10https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pinegrove-1111/ Pinegrove 11:11 Album Review Thomas Peyton Pitchfork February 3, 2022 February 3, 2022 PopMatters 6/10https://www.popmatters.com/pinegrove-1111-album-review Pinegrove: 11:11 (Album Review) Merrick Hayden PopMatters January 25, 2022 January 29, 2022 Under the Radar 7.5 10 11:11 was met with generally favorable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on nine reviews. Marcy Donelson at AllMusic gave it four stars, writing, "Throughout shifts in tempo, density, and electrification, Hall's bittersweet melodies are as affecting as his internal rhymes." Paste Ben Salmon specifically praised its harmonies and slide guitar work, considering 11:11 an addition to Pinegrove's "impressive catalogue" of "reliably twangy, heart-on-sleeve rock 'n' roll."https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/pinegrove/1111-album-review/ Pinegrove Find Comfort in the Struggle on 11:11 Salmon Ben Paste January 28, 2022 January 29, 2022 Mark Moody at Under the Radar called it the group's "most urgent" and focused collection,https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/1111_pinegrove Pinegrove: 11:11 (Rough Trade) Moody Mark Under the Radar 69 January 28, 2022 January 29, 2022 while Hayden Merrick of PopMatters complimented its "urgency and sincerity," considering its focus on nature a welcome respite from emo's typical subject matter. Pitchfork reviewer Peyton Thomas found the album "open-armed [and] inclusive, with instrumentation echoing comfort-food folk and the rootsier elements of recent indie rock." Track listing 11:11 track listing 38:58 Evan Stephens Hall, except "Let", written by Evan Stephens Hall with Sam Skinner Habitat 6:55 Alaska 2:05 Iodine 5:10 Orange 4:29 Flora 2:47 Respirate 2:50 Let 3:25 So What 2:31 Swimming 3:31 Cyclone 2:57 11th Hour 2:18 Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.11:11 2022 Pinegrove liner notes Rough Trade Records US RT0270LP Locations Recorded at Levon Helm Studios (Woodstock, New York); The Building (Marlboro, New York); Mex Tex Studios (Woodstock, New York); additional remote recording in home settings Personnel Pinegrove Evan Stephens Hall – additional engineering, cover painting, design, drums, guitar, percussion, photography, production, songwriting, synthesizer, vocals Zack Levine – additional engineering, percussion, drums Joshua F. Marré – additional engineering, guitar, nylon string guitar, processed guitar, slide guitar Sam Skinner – accordion, bowed bass strings, co-mixing on "Orange" and "11th Hour", electric bass, engineering, guitar, keyboards, organ, piano, production, songwriting, synthesizer, triangle Megan Benevente – additional engineering, electric bass Additional musicians Nandi Rose – additional engineering, vocals Sammy Maine – photography, vocals Chris Walla – additional engineering, guitars, keyboards, mixing, tambourine Doug Hall – organ, synthesizer, piano Technical João Carvalho – mastering Mira Moore – design Charts + Chart performance for 11:11 Chart (2022) Peak positionUKIndependent 35 20220204 true February 5, 2022BillboardHeatseekers 3 Pinegrove true February 8, 2022yes December 2025US Top Album Sales (Billboard)https://www.billboard.com/artist/pinegrove/chart-history/tsl/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220208121449/https://www.billboard.com/artist/pinegrove/chart-history/tsl/ Pinegrove Chart History (Top Album Sales) Billboard February 8, 2022 December 24, 202529 References Category:2022 albums Category:Pinegrove (band) albums Category:Rough Trade Records albums