It wasn’t long ago that many thought Pinegrove was forever gone. Blossoming into indie rocks one of inventive stars after the release of 2016’s Cardinal, the band then disappeared almost overnight at the end of 2017, with a vague Facebook message from the band’s frontman revealing an accusation of sexual coercion, cancelling tours and the termination of their record deal with Run for Cover.
In November 2018, the band returned with Pitchfork writing a feature on the group detailing the events of the past year, which cleared up a lot of assumptions of the situation and showed a good example of a musician admitting his wrong-doing and showing a real effort to change his behaviour and learn from his mistakes.
The band also announced they would be self-releasing their second album, Skylight and touring again. This new tour brought the band to Edinburgh’s Dissection Room, a small venue housed within the Summerhall building. The band were supported by Tom the Lion, a synth-driven set from the London based singer-songwriter was a fantastic way to open the night.
Taking to the stage at 9 pm, Pinegrove launched into the set with their sleeper hit, ‘The Metronome’ taken from their compilation tape ‘Everything So Far’. The atmosphere in the room, despite the controversy the band has seen in the past, was one of complete euphoria. It is a hugely complicated discussion when it comes to enjoying and supporting artists faced with accusations. It seems though, that though there may not be any totally correct way, Pinegrove seems to be somewhat close. This is reflected in the diverse audience who see the sincerity in Evan’s apologies and could therefore still sing along to every word sung at them.
Playing an intense 21 song set, Pinegrove powered through both their full-length records in their entirety, with the exception of ‘Patterson & Leo’. The audience was in the palm of the hands of the band and it was incredible the amount of emotion shown by members in the audience. During ‘Old Friends’ a young man in the audience literally wept, it was an odd sight for an indie rock gig, but it certainly shows the impact the music of the band has on its fans.
While the return of the band is a rocky topic, showcasing the growing pains of reintegration into the entertainment industry in the aftermath of the Me Too Movement, the band absolutely played their hearts out in Edinburgh and showed through their actions off stage that through honesty, acknowledgement and real understanding, you can win people back over.
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