The Pink Stones

“We believe in some pretty strict rules,” says Pink Stones frontman Hunter Pinkston. “We also believe in breaking them. This band was built on reimagining tradition, on honoring the old ways while pushing them someplace new.”

On their intoxicating new album, Thank the Lord...it’s The Pink Stones, Pinkston and his bandmates do precisely that, offering up a joyful, adventurous take on ’60s twang that blurs the lines between cosmic country, folk, bluegrass, soul, and psychedelic rock. Recorded once again with co-producer/engineer Henry Barbe (Drive-By Truckers, Deerhunter) in the band’s hometown of Athens, GA, the collection showcases a more deliberate, mature side of The Pink Stones’ sound, one that reflects all the personal and sonic growth that’s defined the last few years for the hard touring five-piece. The songs on Thank the Lord... are humble and timeless, full of wry, sardonic wit and rich, evocative storytelling, and the performances are easygoing and amiable, with an effortlessly natural feel that belies the masterful craftsmanship behind them. The result is a record that wears its influences proudly on its sleeve, even as it a subverts expectation, a work of poignant longing and playful humor that tips its cap to everyone from Merle Haggard and Earl Scruggs to Don Williams and The Byrds as it looks both forwards and backwards all at once.

“A lot has changed since the last record,” says Pinkston. “We’ve grown up, traveled all over the world, said goodbye to old bandmates and welcomed new ones. All of that’s helped our sound grow and evolve into what it is now.”

Started alone by Pinkston in his Athens apartment, The Pink Stones quickly emerged to widespread acclaim with their 2021 debut, Introducing...The Pink Stones, which earned praise from Rolling Stone, Under The Radar, No Depression, American Songwriter, and more. The band returned two years later with their similarly well-received sophomore effort, You Know Who, which featured an appearance from Nikki Lane and landed on Bandcamp’s Best Country Music of 2023 list. Dates across the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia followed, including festival appearances from 30A to Hopscotch, and while the band’s rapid growth could be traced in large part back to the undeniable energy of their raucous, freewheeling live shows, working at such a relentless pace came with a price.

“We were touring constantly the year after You Know Who came out,” Pinkston recalls, “and some of the guys realized that wasn’t the best fit for them. That forced me to find the kind of players who really wanted to be on the road all the time, and it forced me to step up and play more lead guitar, which naturally affected the kind of music we were making together.”

With new additions Caleb Boese (pedal steel) and Michael Alexander (drums) joining Pinkston (guitar/vocals) and longtime compatriots Adam Wayton (bass) and Neil Golden (keyboards), the band resumed touring at their usual breakneck speed, working up tunes for roughly half the new record live before heading into the studio.

“I wanted to keep things fresh for the recording process, so even though we’d played a bunch of the songs on the road, I made sure there was still plenty of material the guys hadn’t heard until it was time to record,” says Pinkston. “There’s just something about the sound of a band finding the songs as they’re playing them for the first time that you can never recreate.”

That sense of raw discovery and excitement is plain to hear on Thank the Lord..., which opens with the shuffling title track. Featuring mandolin and vocals from bluegrass phenom Wyatt Ellis, the tune is laidback and self-assured, dazzling in the depth and breadth of its musicianship without ever resorting to flashiness or cheap thrills. Pinkston’s tongue is planted firmly in cheek here as he gives thanks to God for the lover that’s made his life complete, and it’s not the last time he’ll offer up a sly take on country music’s longstanding—and sometimes conflicted—relationship with religious imagery. The tender “Such A Sight” (featuring former Pink Stones pedal steel guitarist John Neff on dobro) finds Heaven right here on Earth, while the waltzing “Start With Your Name” contemplates the ninth commandment’s prohibition on deceit and dishonesty, and the puckish “Hometown Hotel” forgives itself for some good old-fashioned sinning.

“I’ve never been religious,” says Pinkston, “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. I wanted this album to touch on both sides of that coin.”

Despite its flirtations with virtue and vice (Pinkston stands in front of a church on the cover, casting a shadow with a subtle pair of horns), Thank the Lord... is, at its heart, a classic Pink Stones rumination on human connection, on love, loss, and desire. The aching “Real Sad Movies, Big Jet Planes” can’t seem to escape reminders of the one who got away; the honky-tonking “If I Can’t Win (With You)” learns to go it alone; the Latin-tinged “Cold Eye of Leaving” (featuring vocals from longtime Pink Stones manager Drew Beskin) watches love walk out the door; the bittersweet “Summer’s Love (Winter’s Pain)” comes face to face with loneliness; and the lilting “Hard To K*ll” grapples with emotions that just won’t seem to fade. “It’s hard to K*ll / The way that you feel,” Pinkston sings over soaring pedal steel and driving fiddle (played here by special guest Libby Weitnauer). “When love’s still real / But down went the deal.”

“I’ve always tended to gravitate toward those kinds of stories as a writer,” says Pinkston. “Heartbreak, regret, unrequited love, that’s our wheelhouse.”

And yet it’s perhaps the most hopeful tune on the record, the effervescent “Too Busy,” that best encapsulates the magic of Thank the Lord..., with its infectious melody and double-timed chorus all delivered with the relaxed, unhurried air of someone who’s found exactly what they want (and knows exactly how to hold onto it).

“Our last record got really loud and fast and in your face at times, but it was important to me that we lay back on this one,” explains Pinkston. “The band played softer, I sang softer, and we just embraced the mystery of it all.”

That is, of course, until the song’s final seconds, when the band’s gentle serenity gives way to an all-out psych-rock jam featuring Curtis Callis on banjo. It’s a brief, but potent reminder: some rules are made to be broken. 

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