Time is a peculiar thing. My thoughts are not thinking straight, therefore I am writing this in bullets because that‰’s how I‰’m thinking. I‰’m feeling hazy. Like smoke. Whatever, here is a list of my thoughts on Pinegroves‰’ Old Friends.

• The name of the album is “Cardinal,‰” like the four cardinal directions (North, South, West, East) on the compass.
• The album as a whole is the journey of growth.
• The lyrics are written by the lead singer Evan Halls. Nice.
• Clever words play with
  • “Appointment or disappointment,‰” “Walking out in the nighttime springtime‰” and the repeated line, “How come every outcome‰’s such a comedown‰” in the pre-chorus.
• They lead to each other without being too cheesy.
• Evan Hall‰’s voice has a boyish gruff to it which is perfect for this song.
• Don‰’t we all see things that would make us happy like a person or a place and not get them

NPR MUSIC MINI DESK :

• Walking is constantly associated with pain
  • “I keep going over it over and over/My steps iterate my shame‰Û
  • “My steps keep splitting my grief‰Û
• Walking, this slow less used means of travel, takes time. No one wants to takes time to do stuff like self-care and recognition of flaws.
• One struggle of walking is finding where to go or going somewhere but not really knowing where.
• With self-reflection with the past is an act of progress that is a betterment of self.
• To go somewhere is difficult, so much effort.
• Maybe walking is a metaphor for grief
• Walking is a slow tedious process to somewhere
• It‰’s terrible to say but grief creates growth when done right
• The song is confessional

Old Friend Live at World Cafe:

Schuylkill Sessions:

• We know the second chorus is important because of the rest of the instruments dim
• Some lines are so passive it‰’s painful.
  • “Walking out in the nighttime springtime/ Needling my way home/ I saw Leah on the bus a few months ago/I saw some old friends at her funeral.‰Û
• The grief is so nonchalant you may not even pay attention to it. The lyrics shed truth to how grief is not this epic thing. Over time it trickles into our daily lives and it is a bravery people often don‰’t get credit for.
• It’s this grief that sustains a realization of giving a boundless love to those around him.
• Growth.
• “I knew happiness when I saw it.‰” This is past tense.
• This song is not universal, at least not made to be rather it is personal to Evan Halls. We don‰’t know who Leah is or if she is the girl he is talking about earlier and if so why would he talk about her in present tense, but we know of the universal pain about losing someone and eventually having to talk about them to someone one day so casually. It‰’s inevitable.
• We know of trying to be a better person whether it is “I should call my parents when I think of them/ Should tell my friends when I love them/ Maybe I should have gone out a bit more/ when you guys were still in town.‰Û
• In essence, it’s heartbreaking but learned growth
• Solipsistic moods, labyrinthine pleasantly mix in with the simple vernacular without being too show off.
• We are struggling to be better and that‰’s a tedious process