NeoL

– The new album “Marigold” is a very intimate record which you’re pouring your heart out. Also at the same time, I could feel your strong mind making a fresh start of the band. What does this new record mean to yourself?


“I’m being true to myself on the album. I think it album is about how people are connected to people and things around you, and about duality of what people and things. For example, loneliness exists because you’ve experienced to seen what togetherness is. I’m sometimes introvert but can be extrovert as well. I sometimes have a lot of energy but the other times I want to be alone. In the record, I’m expressing the coexistence of many kinds of aspects of people and things.”

– “Marigold” is the first record in 4 years. I bet there have been many things happened around you after you released “Skylight”, but what motivated you to make this new album? What gave you inspirations?


“Not only this time, but personal stuff is always what inspires me. Who I am, things happened or happening around me, books I read, everything involved in my life is the inspiration. “

– Like before, you guys invited your father and Zack’s father to the record making. Did you guys and the band members have any discussion about what kind of album or sound you guys want to make together? Can you tell us some interesting or memorable episodes of making the album?


“We play with our dads because they’re very close to us. We know how fun and exciting it is to play music together with people who you love and trust. It’s very comfortable and easy to play with them. This time, we were having conversations that we wanted more cohesive, clear, and minimal sound. We wanted to express what each song is about by not depending on sound too much. As for the interesting episode, I remember that we had big hail like a basket ball when we were recording although it was summer(laughs). I felt the power of nature at the time and inspired by that when I was writing the lyrics. That was really crazy that a giant chunk of ice hit the house out of the blue(laughs).

– As you said, the sound of the new album is more clear and minimal, and I also heard that you guys tried to make more direct sound. Why is that? Did you guys take any different or new approach this time?


“If you’re an artist, and trying to make other people to listen to what you make, trying to make more clear, minimal and direct sound is important thing to do I think. If the art involves other people, I think artists should try to express things by making something people can easily listen to, feel connection, and understand. The difference or new approach we tried this time can be what I said on the answer for the proviso question. It’s hard to expel with words but I think you can hear that from the track like ‘Neighbor’. We didn’t really change how we play. Zack and I have been playing together for more than 20 years now, so we’ll try to keep improving but wouldn’t try to change it now after a while. We’ve built something never changes and something specific to us as we make songs. I think that’s one of the elements which makes our music our own sound.”





– The track ‘Hairpin’ is floaty and slow core. How did you make this song? What was the process like? Is there any music or records you get inspirations from to make this track?


“I made this song when I went to my aunty’s in California. I picked up her guitar in the house and started playing and that became a song. Usually it takes some time for me to finish writing a song but the process of writing this song was very spontaneous and it didn’t take long at all. Most of the time I write a song I care about people who listen to the song, but I can say I wasn’t conscious about other people when I was writing this song. So this song is more like folk music. The inspirations is my aunty and my family as I was using my aunty’s guitar. It was at her house as well so my family were always in my mind while I was working on the song. By the way, ‘Alcove” was written around the same time.”

– What’s the theme or concept of the lyrics? As you said, the sound is more clear and minimum. So I thought we can feel your feeling comes with the words of the lyrics more directly.


“One is patience. I think that being patient is very difficult. People who have no patience say that they’re trying to use time effectively by judging and solving things as soon as possible. But I started thinking that’s not true. For instance, think about car accidents. If that happened to you, Do you try to calm down and have interests in why the accident? Or do you get mad at the situation? Most of the case people get angry. But if you’re patient, maybe you can make the accident not only a terrible thing happened to you but also an experience you can learn or find something from. When I was making this album I was trying to think what patience is and how it affects on me.”

– In the lyrics of ‘Hairpin’, There’s Asphodel, which is called flower of death. I thought you tried to talk about view of religious or life and death. How was this track born?


“That flower doesn’t describe proper death, but describes permanent death. The death happens before something new gets born. On this album, you see some names of flowers like marigold. Flowers bloom beautifully sometimes but they also die down. Flower is one of the symbols of duality. They die down and that’s why we can feel it’s so beautiful when they are blooming. And we know that it can be beautiful when it blooms that’s why we wish it comes back again when it’s dry and dead. Life and death, to die down and to bloom are coexisting. But the lyrics go this dong doesn’t really have bing meaning behind. I wasn’t really thinking when I was writing the lyrics of the song (laughs).”





– The line on ‘The Alarmist’, “can I believe / in the me before i’m lost on yesterday / can I believe / in the me before I knew you beautifully” leaves us big impression. Can you tell us how you wrote this song?


“This track took me so long to finish. I had been working on it since around 2012. Sometimes the lyrics didn’t make sense, the other times the chords didn’t make sense. I couldn’t be happy with something overtime and I had to wait till I can feel everything makes sense. Patience had something to do with this song. I was facing with patience while I was writing it. I looked back so may things as I was writing the track and I tried to understand what it was. The patience I was facing with until everything I tried to express makes sense shaped this song.”

– I heard that you’re influenced by James Joyce, William Faulkner, Virginia Wolf, David Foster Wallace in terms of lyrics. What is great about them do you think? What is the most important thing for you when you write lyrics?


“I’m inspired by their way of thinkings and their visions. They are all different characters, so I can see and learn lots of kinds of views other than my own opinions by reading their books. The most important thing when I write lyrics is that make rhythm which fits the melody and sing like you’re talking. Speaking voice has its own melody and rhythm. You should try to make the melody and rhythm and other sound work together. Speaking voice is what comes out of you naturally so it’s more real. I think it’s important to make good use of it to make something real.”

– Some people categorize Pinegrove as “emo”, especially forth wave, and you guys often gets compared to bands such as The Hotelier, Hop Along, Foxing, World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die. But do you guys actually enjoy listening to that type of music and feel connected to the genre?


“We don’t really listen to so called “emo” in general and don’t feel close to it. But the word “eco” comes from “emotional” and we think our music is emotional music. I get emotional as I make music myself, too. But sound wise, I don’t think our music is emo. But as long as people talk about our music, I see it as a good think although the word emo comes up (laughs).”

– Kristen Stewart’s tattoo, which is the logo from the artwork of the album “Cardinal”, was spotted last year. She also got taken a photo of herself wearing the T-shirt of your band by paparazzi before as well. But how did you meet each other? Do you have any interesting story about her and the band?


“She apparently became a fan of our music after she found us on Spotify, and contacted us and said she wanted to come to see one of our shows. The we invited her and she came to the show. That was the only time we’ve met. That was such an honor someone big like her enjoys listening to our music and also couldn’t feel that was real.”

– It’s been a while since you released the last album “Skylight” and there must have happened a lot of things to the band, and the band or yourself discovered or learned something new from the experiences I think. If you can talk to yourself three years younger, who are making the previous album, what do you want to tell yourself?


“It’s a hard question. I don’t think there’s anything I can say. Sometimes I think like I wish I have known about something a bit earlier, but by spending time to understand that we can build your patience, and you need the time to understand things more. I think there are some things only certain time you can experience them. Some stuff you need spend some time to understand it properly. I always try to do my best every moment so I don’t think there’s anything else I could have done more in the past. I think me, three years go, was trying to do his best so he doesn’t have to listen to me now.”

– Thank you so much for your time today.


“Thank you. I hope you can come to Japan soon. I’m looking forward to it.”