The alternative rock act known as New
Pilgrims have released their new LP record, “World to See.” The
album contains nine original New Pilgrims tracks for an approximate
total listening time of half an hour. It has been proudly released on
the Stereophonic Records independent music label. Genuine, intimate,
remarkably written and performed with its heart on its sleeve, “World
to See” by New Pilgrims is a surprise delight for fans of indie
folk, alternative rock and pop music alike.
The mastermind behind New Pilgrims is
singer-songwriter Bobby Gray from Nashville, TN. Gray cites as main
artistic influences many of the mainstays of the alt-folk sound,
including Brite Eyes, Dr. Dog and Tom Waits, as well as pop heroes
like the Eels, Tricky and the Arcade Fire. Critics and fans have
drawn comparisons between the music of New Pilgrims and the
Decemberists, the Postal Service, and even Death Cab for Cutie. Gray
himself also insists that his producer, Vinny Constantine, was
chiefly important to the style and sound of the “World to See”
LP.
One review described “World to See”
by New Pilgrims as “straddling the appeal of alternative,
indie-folk and pop music with tasteful amounts of ear candy,
bittersweet hopefulness and good vibes.”
Regardless of sonic similarities,
however, this is song-centric music, and these tracks stand as small,
solitary works of art.
“For me songwriting is definitely not
a guitar/vocal kind of thing,” writes New Pilgrims' Bobby Gray. “I
think there is a sense of honesty in a song that sometimes lends
itself to a certain sound or instrument.”
For this reason Gray has become an
autodidact and multi-instrumentalist to a startling degree. This
lends his new record a textured depth in terms of tone which many
bands can't achieve with five core members, let alone just one. Gray
explains that he doesn't make songs work with flash and pizzazz. To
him, rather, “it’s always really whatever the song needs. I may
play guitar on one song and piano or organ on another, or pick up
something more unusual that really captures the feel of the song.”
That the song is Gray's unit of
creativity also shows in his attention to lyrics. Each track seeps
with personality like a photograph, a sonic snapshot of time in which
something that has happened occurs again. This gives “World to See”
a melancholy which is neither melodramatic nor overly sentimental.
Gray says of this, “I guess there is
sadness in a lot of my music … in my life I’ve been through a lot
of tough times. It’s bound to make its way into the music. I also
think that’s just part of the honesty coming out. You know, even
when I’m at my happiest, there are thoughts of the past and things
that creep in there at times.”
The word 'bittersweet' is a common one
to hear when discussing the themes of “World to See” with fans of
Gray's music.
“I think that everything in life is
sort of bittersweet like when you actually stop and look at it,”
writes Gray. “Time flies, and next thing you know it’s gone. Some
of the most touching music that I love is sort of like that.
Songwriting and recording is a way for me to process it all.”
The audiophile will agree before the
opening track has finished that this “World to See” is definitely
something to stop and look at, not least because it's a gorgeous way
for music fans to process it all, too.
“World to See” by New Pilgrims is
available online worldwide. Get in early, fans of indie rock and
folk, and be sure to catch them on your favorite streaming services
such as Last.FM, Google Play, Spotify, Deezer Radio, iHeartRadio, and
others.
-S. McCauley
Lead Press Release Writer
www.MondoTunes.com
“World to See” by New
Pilgrims –
Websites –
www.newpilgrims.net
(in development)
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