Pinegrove makes music that seeps into your veins. This past February the Montclair, New Jersey band released their debut LP, Cardinal, on seminal Boston emo label Run for Cover Records. Cardinal draws from the pedal steel sadness of outlaw country, but feels distinctly modern and youthful. Multi-instrumentalist and primary songwriter Evan Stephens Hall sings about relatable troubles, like nostalgic longing and the fleeting nature of emotions, intimacy, and friendships. But Hall's lyrics don't aim to appeal in some Everytown, rural America sense—they're intensely specific and all the more affecting. For instance, on "Old Friends" Hall remembers seeing a friend on a bus a few months before her funeral, then resolves, "I should call my parents when I think of them/I should tell my friends when I love them." CAMERON CROWELL