PIGEON PIT – CRAZY ARMS
Welcome to 2025, into a world we never expected! Hey, we have to live in it and still make our way through it the best we can. That seems to be the sentiment shouted by Olympia, Washington’s Pigeon Pit, which has just released its fourth full-length release, and first as a six-member outfit. There’s a familiarity Pigeon Pit echoes with its Crazy Arms (Ernest Jenning Record Co.), although it’s my first time listening to the group’s music. “Familiarity” could be interchangeable with “nostalgia” because everything about Crazy Arms, down to the way it was recorded, menaces with a sheer rawness. The group did the unthinkable, recording all analog on 1/2” tape through a 4-track. No, you read that correctly. While it may not be 1989, there’s nothing here that remotely screams “lo-fi,” those days are over.
Leaving no room for retakes, the group of musicians crafts an assortment of folk/punk tracks but never strays from blending in delectable melodies, embracing any missteps, and finding solace within the natural feel of its music. Pigeon Pit kicks things off with the raucous “Bad Advice” which leaves litter room to breathe. Throughout the entirety of the song, there’s hardly any space around it as instruments (guitar, drums, bass, strings, harmonica) all play their parts gelling together as if never separate. The unexpected shouted harmonies offer a sense of unity and the group remains singular in its approach until the track’s inevitable finish. “Apple” plays a bit with dynamics, with shifting guitars on overdrive a quarter of the way through. The melody is never sacrificed, forever present and inviting. But throughout this album, Pigeon Pit never paints itself into a corner as a one-trick pony with punked-up antics. “Stone Song” has elements of Americana/Country through its use of slide guitar, accompanied by piano, surrounded by a variety of other instruments. One thing though, the group never relinquishes its punk aesthetic, it remains strengthened through its music. Vocalist Lomes Oleander finds solace on “Tide Pools,” just the sometimes quivering voice and an acoustic guitar. At just over two minutes, Oleander sings as the guitar’s repetitive and strong melody captivates. It’s repetitive but not repetitious, there’s quite a difference.
Make no mistake though, the band entices with powerful pop vibes, running through “Bronco,” with occasional dual vocal interplay with its hypnotic backdrop. The way the song changes its rhythm three quarters the way through it finds the group challenging not only itself but also listeners. Everything is crystal clear as Pigeon Pit makes its way to “Hot Shower Winter Morning,” where we find possibly the best the band has to offer…in a pop sense because the energy throughout some other tracks is fascinating. Here, it’s as I just mentioned, the pop melody as strings caress Oleander’s vocals is intriguing and while there could be room for error, there isn’t any.
What is there left to say about Crazy Arms aside from its nods to its influences, Pigeon Pit’s ability to morph from track to track like a chameleon and joyously listen to the band play its group of charming songs? No, that’s basically it.
Social Media