View source for 11:11 (Pinegrove album)

{{Infobox album
| name       = 11:11
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Pinegrove (band)|Pinegrove]]
| cover      = 11-11 - Pinegrove.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = January 28, 2022
| recorded   =
| studio     = {{hlist|Levon Helm Studios ([[Woodstock, New York]])|The Building ([[Marlboro, New York]])}}
| genre      = <!-- Please source genres -->{{hlist|[[Americana (music)|Americana]]<ref name="paste"/><ref name="utr"/>|[[emo]]<ref name="paste"/><ref name="PopMatters"/>|[[indie rock]]<ref name="AllMusic"/>}}
| length     = 38:58
| label      = [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]]
| producer   = {{hlist|[[Evan Stephens Hall]]|Sam Skinner}}
| prev_title = Amperland, NY
| prev_year  = 2021
| next_title =
| next_year  =
| misc       = {{Singles
| name        = 11:11
| type        = studio
| single1     = Orange
| single1date = August 25, 2021
| single2     = Alaska
| single2date = November 11, 2021
| single3     = Respirate
| single3date = January 6, 2022
| single4     = [[Habitat (song)|Habitat]]
| single4date = January 26, 2022
}}
}}
'''''11:11''''' is the fifth studio album by [[Pinegrove (band)|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 [[Biophysical environment|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, New York|Marlboro]] and at [[Levon Helm]] Studios in [[Woodstock, New York|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,<ref name="as"/> 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.<ref name="acq"/> She digitally sent the team her improvisational bass parts, which the band "cobbled together [into] something very interesting and melodic," according to Hall.<ref name="as"/>
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?"<ref name="nme">{{cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/pinegrove-announce-new-album-1111-with-first-single-alaska-3093133|title=Pinegrove announce new album '11:11' with first single 'Alaska'|date=November 11, 2021|first=Will|last=Richards|work=[[NME]]|access-date=November 11, 2021}}</ref>
The band issued "Orange", the first single from ''11:11'', on August 25, 2021;<ref name="con">{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2021/08/pinegrove-orange-stream/|title=Pinegrove Share Climate Change Protest Song "Orange": Stream|date=August 25, 2021|first=Abby|last=Jones|website=[[Consequence of Sound]]|access-date=November 11, 2021}}</ref> an album announcement and pre-order took place on November 11 (or 11:11), alongside the release of second single "Alaska".<ref name="nme"/>
==Themes and artwork==
[[File:USA 2006 (October 11th) New York, Ashokan Reservoir.jpg|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.<ref name="as">{{cite news|url=https://americansongwriter.com/pinegrove-enlightens-on-new-album-1111/|title=Pinegrove Enlightens on New Album '11:11'|date=January 31, 2022|first=Madeline|last=Crone|work=[[American Songwriter]]|access-date=February 1, 2022}}</ref> Consequently, much of ''11:11'' focuses thematically on the natural world, both celebrating its beauty and destruction at the hands of humanity.<ref name="nj"/>
Much of ''11:11'' consists of concise, mid-tempo songs, save for its opener, "[[Habitat (song)|Habitat]]", which runs six minutes long.<ref name="nj">{{cite web|url=https://www.njarts.net/pinegrove-gets-introspective-but-also-expresses-alarm-about-environment-on-new-album-1111/|title=Pinegrove gets introspective but also expresses alarm about environment on new album '11:11'|first=Jim|last=Testa|date=January 29, 2022|access-date=February 4, 2022|website=NJArts.com}}</ref> Hall intended for the song to function as an [[overture]], introducing the listener to the album's concepts.<ref name="acq"/> "Alaska" takes place on an airplane operated by a sleeping pilot, flying diagonally across America. The narrator describes grids of trees and [[Maize|cornfield]]s repeating like [[Pattern#Science and mathematics|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 [[Liminality|liminal space]]" of an [[aircraft cabin]] "a metaphor for how time has felt" during the pandemic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/11/15/1055915008/new-mix-big-thief-pinegrove-facesoul-maia-friedman-more|title=New Mix: Big Thief, Pinegrove, FACESOUL, Maia Friedman, more|first=Bob|last=Boilen|date=November 16, 2021|access-date=November 29, 2021|website=NPR}}</ref> "Orange" more directly tackles these issues, with its title referring to the smoke-filled hue given to skies over the state of [[Oregon]] [[2020 Oregon wildfires|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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/pinegrove-return-with-new-single-orange-a-waltz-about-the-climate-crisis-3029582|title=Pinegrove return with new single 'Orange', a "waltz about the climate crisis"|first=David James|last=Young|work=NME|date=August 26, 2021|access-date=November 29, 2021}}</ref> 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."<ref name="nj"/>
The album's title is a [[palindrome]], and its cover artwork depicts the title superimposed between [[square]]s; 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.<ref name="acq">{{cite web|url=https://www.theaquarian.com/2022/01/26/talking-1111-the-album-that-turned-pinegroves-house-into-a-home/|title=Talking '11:11' – The Album That Turned Pinegrove's House Into a Home|date=January 26, 2022|first=Debra Kate|last=Schafer|work=The Aquarian|access-date=January 26, 2022}}</ref> Madeline Crone at ''[[American Songwriter]]'' felt that the visual of the title itself evokes a row of pine trees.<ref name="as"/>
==Reception==
{{Music ratings
| MC = 73/100<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/1111/pinegrove|title=11:11 by Pinegrove Reviews and Tracks|publisher=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=January 31, 2024}}</ref>
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/11-11-mw0003620823|title=11:11 – Pinegrove|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|last= Donelson |first=Marcy|access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''
| rev2score = 7.8/10<ref name="paste"/>
| rev3 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev3score = 7.1/10<ref name="p4k">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pinegrove-1111/|title=Pinegrove ''11:11'' Album Review|last=Thomas|first=Peyton|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=February 3, 2022|access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[PopMatters]]''
| rev4score = 6/10<ref name="PopMatters">{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pinegrove-1111-album-review|title=Pinegrove: ''11:11'' (Album Review)|last=Merrick|first=Hayden|work=[[PopMatters]]|date=January 25, 2022|access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]]''
| rev5score = {{rating|7.5|10}}<ref name="utr"/>
}}
''11:11'' was met with generally favorable reviews. At [[Metacritic]], which assigns a [[Standard score|normalized]] rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an [[Weighted arithmetic mean|average]] score of 73, based on nine reviews.<ref name="Metacritic"/>
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."<ref name="AllMusic"/> ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''{{'s}} 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]]."<ref name="paste">{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/pinegrove/1111-album-review/|title=Pinegrove Find Comfort in the Struggle on 11:11|last=Salmon|first=Ben|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=January 28, 2022|access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref> Mark Moody at ''[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]]'' called it the group's "most urgent" and focused collection,<ref name="utr">{{cite web|url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/1111_pinegrove|title=Pinegrove: ''11:11'' (Rough Trade)|last=Moody|first=Mark|work=[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]]|issue=69|date=January 28, 2022|access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref> while Hayden Merrick of ''[[PopMatters]]'' complimented its "urgency and sincerity," considering its focus on nature a welcome respite from emo's typical subject matter.<ref name="PopMatters"/> ''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."<ref name="p4k"/>
==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| headline = ''11:11'' track listing
| total_length = 38:58
| all_writing = Evan Stephens Hall, except "Let", written by Evan Stephens Hall with Sam Skinner
| title1   = [[Habitat (song)|Habitat]]
| length1  = 6:55
| title2   = Alaska
| length2  = 2:05
| title3   = Iodine
| length3  = 5:10
| title4   = Orange
| length4  = 4:29
| title5   = Flora
| length5  = 2:47
| title6   = Respirate
| length6  = 2:50
| title7   = Let
| length7  = 3:25
| title8   = So What
| length8  = 2:31
| title9   = Swimming
| length9  = 3:31
| title10  = Cyclone
| length10 = 2:57
| title11  = 11th Hour
| length11 = 2:18
}}
==Personnel==
Credits adapted from the album's [[liner notes]].<ref name="liner">{{cite AV media notes | title=11:11| date=2022 | others=[[Pinegrove (band)|Pinegrove]]| type=liner notes | publisher=[[Rough Trade Records]] | location=US| id= RT0270LP}}</ref>
'''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'''
{{Div col}}
'''Pinegrove'''
* [[Evan Stephens Hall]] – [[Audio engineer|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]], [[Double bass|bowed bass strings]], co-[[audio mixing|mixing]] on "Orange" and "11th Hour", electric bass, engineering, guitar, keyboards, organ, piano, production, songwriting, synthesizer, [[Triangle (musical instrument)|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 (audio)|mastering]]
* Mira Moore – design
{{Div col end}}
==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for ''11:11''
! scope="col"| Chart (2022)
! scope="col"| Peak position
|-
{{album chart|UKIndependent|35|date=20220204|rowheader=true|access-date=February 5, 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardHeatseekers|3|artist=Pinegrove|rowheader=true|access-date=February 8, 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardAlbumSales|29|artist=Pinegrove|rowheader=true|access-date=February 8, 2022}}
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Pinegrove}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:2022 albums]]
[[Category:Pinegrove (band) albums]]
[[Category:Rough Trade Records albums]]