The Pink Stones/Introducing The Pink Stones/New West
Four of Five Stars
Videos by American Songwriter
It’s not too difficult to discern where the The Pink Stones gleaned their influences. Their aptly titled debut album recalls the hazy sprawl of the early alt-country sound championed by Gram Parsons as well as the paisley pop psychedelia reinvented by bands like Mazzy Star, Green on Red and the Dream Syndicate throughout the late ‘70s and much of the ‘80s. Like those earlier outfits, The Pink Stones veer between lethargy and largess courtesy of an irreverent attitude, plenty of pedal steel guitar and high lonesome harmonies that often teeter on the brink of a breakdown.
Indeed, The Pink Stones do a fine job of recalling that initial surge of Americana, when long-haired rockers donned Nudie jackets and dove deep into the cultural chasm that separated hippies from the home boys. “Barroom Blues” and “Let’s Sit Down” sound like outtakes from an early Flying Burrito Brothers album when Gram and country were first finding their footing. Likewise, the stoned swagger of “Love Me Hardly” and the sadder sentiments of “Blueberry Dreams,” “Put Me On,” “Dream So Sweetly,” and “Nothin’New” suggest time spent spilling tears into their beers and subsequently culling some woozy reflection in the aftermath.
I wish I could blame it on you, I wish that was what I could do, singer, guitarist and helmsman Hunter Pinkston moans on the latter. The rest of the band—Will Anderson (piano, organ, vocals), Adam Wayton (bass), Logan Brammer (guitar, vocals), Jack Colclough (drums), and John Neff (pedal steel)—do an able job of reinforcing the sentiment and giving the music’s wayward ramble the carefree consideration it deserves. It’s reckless and remorseful all at the same time, giving full vent to tattered emotions and decided indulgence.
Given this fine introduction, The Pink Stones would seem to have a promising future before them. Gram would certainly approve.
