Artist:     Pilgrim

Album:     No Offense, Nevermind, Sorry

Label:     Horton Records

Release Date:     6.25.21

92

BUY DIGITAL

BUY PHYSICAL

Someone toyed with Beau Roberson’s emotions and broke him, leaving Pilgrim’s songwriting captain a rudderless shell of himself in the wounded “Out of Touch.” Stylish and starry-eyed, lost in its rich soulful anguish, the second song from the rootsy, slow burning No Offense, Nevermind, Sorry gradually builds to a glorious crescendo before turning quiet.

That’s when Roberson gets his revenge. Feeling duped, his voice dripping with bitter recrimination, Roberson sings, “You knew just what you were doing/breaking his heart by fooling around with mine.” Words do hurt, but when couched in such soul-searching elegance and beauty, as is the case with “Out of Touch,” the blow is softened somewhat. As a songwriter, Roberson is subtle and sly with his punches.

Universal themes of heartache and loss are constant drinking companions throughout the sumptuous and sensual No Offense, Nevermind, Sorry, as the aching, drawn-out piano balladry of “Scar Across My Heart” and a gripping, noirish “Down” try to dig themselves out of dark holes and the yearning, sashaying “Katie” wonders where love went wrong. Even the amiable, yet dimly lit country shuffle “Darkness at the End of the Bar” suffers from slight pangs of regret and guilt, having burned all its bridges as it attempts to remain hopeful.

No Offense, Nevermind, Sorry is a strong brew of sublime Americana, soft rock and deep soul from Pilgrim, the Tulsa-based collective blessed with such talents as Jesse Aycock, John Fullbright, Paddy Ryan, Aaron Boehler and Stephen Lee. They soar through the smoky, cinematic “Lefty,” achieving Wilco-like grandeur, later bringing ominous darkness to a crawling “Rodeo Man,” which lugs its heavy chains to wheezing snarls of harmonica and menacing background noise. At the same time, they can’t help smiling about being in love in “Hallelujah Moment,” its soft, light buoyancy and trickling melody brushed with wafting pedal steel and contentment. No apologies are necessary for No Offense, Nevermind, Sorry.

—Peter Lindblad