There aren’t many folks breathing new life into cosmic country the way The Pink Stones have in their career. Over nearly five years, two albums and countless raucous live shows, The Pink Stones have made a name for themselves in the country world with their psychedelic bent and powerful stage presence, drawing early comparisons to the likes of The Byrds, Merle Haggard and Earl Scruggs.
After a two-year break in releases, The Pink Stones are back with an 11-track record that serves as a love letter to the genres and artists that inspired them, while also looking to add a modern and innovative twist to twang. Thank The Lord, It’s The Pink Stones was just released Sept. 19 via Normaltown and New West Records.
A lot has occurred in the intervening years between this album and the last. Namely, the band experienced a change in lineup that saw the departure of pedal steel player John Neff and the arrival of Caleb Boese, as well as extensive touring in Australia and Europe.
“People in Europe really love the country music thing,” says Hunter Pinkston, founder, frontman and presumptive namesake of the band. “They dress up like cowboys; it’s super cool.”
The constant touring, however, began to have its effect. Following the loss of Neff, Pinkston began to step up as a lead guitar player in a greater capacity, and had to find a lineup of players more conducive to the touring and performance pace he had become used to.
Athens drummer Michael Alexander joined the band for the record, alongside longtime band members Adam Wayton on bass and Neil Golden on keyboard. Following the lineup changes, the band continued its touring, workshopping songs on the road that would eventually end up on Thank The Lord. “We try to stay on the road as much as we can, because that’s the only way we can all be together,” Pinkston says.
On the whole, the record is deeper and more thematically and musically mature than any other prior work The Pink Stones have released. In some ways it comes off as very traditional, a wonderful entry into the halls of country. That’s no insult, either. In fact, it’s right in the subtitle of the record: “Eleven new country standards.” The subject matter focuses on themes of unrequited love, loss, nostalgia and longing, while still retaining the wit and humor that Pinkston’s writing has become known for over the years.
“I see this as sort of a concept album. Love and loss is my classic songbook. Everyone experiences that kind of stuff, you know? It’s just part of being a human being,” Pinkston says.
The album plays very sarcastically with religion throughout, as well. From the title to the masterful album art featuring Pinkston himself, with the backdrop of a church and his shadow casting a pair of devil horns so small that they are nearly unnoticeable.
Originally meant as a joke, the title track “Thank The Lord” (featuring mandolin phenom Wyatt Ellis) could serve just as well as a 1960s revivalist praise song. It harkens back to the days when God could be found in every clapboard church, and the devil wasn’t simply an obedience tale, but rather a real, physical adversary that had to be battled daily.
“I’ve never been religious,” Pinkston says, “but I’ve always been fascinated with those early country guys who sang gospel tunes and wore suits with crosses on them, even while they were getting into some pretty immoral stuff.”
“Real Sad Movies, Big Jet Planes” is a particular standout, evoking the work of artists like Tom T. Hall and Dave Loggins while Boese’s pedal steel wails between verses. To the heartbroken, airplanes are only a momentary escape from the reality of loss.
Thank The Lord was recorded at Henry Barbe’s home studio in Athens, a relaxed environment that allowed the band the space to experiment with ideas and piece things together without a deadline or strict studio hours hanging over their heads. And with the band spread across the South (Boese in Nashville and Alexander in Atlanta) working jobs of their own, time together was a precious commodity in the studio.
The record was put together piecemeal, with Boese and Pinkston formulating ideas at their respective instruments during live tracking sessions, speaking through their guitars to each other to craft parts that come across as so effortless on the record.
“It was a pretty loose recording process,” Pinkston says. “But I’m more proud of this record than any other we’ve put out.” Following the release of Thank The Lord, The Pink Stones are set to perform a two-night run at Flicker Theatre and Bar with Little Gold on Sept. 25 and T. Hardy Morris on Sept. 26. Then, it’s on to a free record signing and show at Atlanta’s Criminal Records before hitting the road again for a two-month tour that will take them across the country and into the sunset, with only a fine plume of dust rising in their wake.
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