The Pines Of Rome Preview ‘When You Are As Full As The Moon’ With the Slow-Burning “Kali’s Tongue”

The Pines Of Rome are moving into a second reunion chapter. The Providence, Rhode Island indie rock trio, who first came together in the late ’90s, split in the early ’00s after releasing a couple of albums and sharing stages with Songs: Ohia, Silkworm, and Bonnie “Prince” Billy. During the pandemic, the former bandmates reconnected and began writing again, eventually expanding into a four-piece with bassist Steven Kimura. Their return already produced The Unstruck Bell in 2023, and now another record is lined up behind it.

When You Are As Full As The Moon was recorded and mixed by Seth Manchester, and its title comes from an ancient Zen Buddhist poem. Brian Jablonski contributes pedal steel to a few tracks, including the lead single, “Kali’s Tongue.” At six minutes, it’s a slow, grave piece that lands somewhere in the old college-radio lineage the band came up around, with a kind of worn-in seriousness that suits their history. The song arrives with the sort of patience that suggests this wasn’t made for quick consumption, which feels consistent with a band whose story has already crossed one breakup and one pandemic-era reconvening.

There is, admittedly, a certain old-world quality to the whole thing, even before the record is out: the title, the pacing, the personnel, the way the band has re-entered the conversation without trying to pretend they never left it. The new album arrives June 19 on Solid Brass.

Tracklist:

01 “New Zealand”
02 “Kali’s Tongue”
03 “Holler Gold”
04 “Brass Knuckles”
05 “Last Leaf Left”
06 “Pawns”
07 “Bad Timing”