There is a warmth to Good Luck, Nice To Meet You that feels immediately inviting. The third studio album from St. Louis quartet The Mighty Pines is rooted in the musical traditions of their hometown, but it is far from a straightforward Americana record. Bluegrass, soul, blues, funk and rock & roll all find their place here, brought together by rich three-part harmonies, strong musicianship and songwriting that feels increasingly confident in its own identity.
Written over the years following the pandemic, the album seems to carry something of that period of renewal with it. There is a sense of looking forward throughout the record, of a band taking stock of where they have been while becoming increasingly comfortable with where they are going. Their influences are wide-ranging, with echoes of Bruce Hornsby, Tom Petty, Counting Crows, Little Feat and Hiatus Kaiyote, but The Mighty Pines never seem content simply to recreate the sounds of those influences. Instead, they pull those threads together into something distinctly their own.
The opening title track is an immediately infectious way to begin, establishing the upbeat Americana-folk character that carries through much of the record. Organic instrumentation, honest lyricism and buoyant melodies are delivered with a soulful flourish, setting the tone for an album that feels both polished and instinctive.
From there, the band moves effortlessly between bright bluegrass, vibrant Americana, melodic country and moments that lean further into the soul side of their sound. From the bluegrass licks of ‘Down by the River’ to the buoyant soul-blues groove of ‘Juniper’, and from the Americana-pop-country accessibility of ‘Broken Radio’ to ‘Longest Night’, there is a freedom and disregard for genre boundaries in the band’s writing that gives the album both depth and variety.
From bright, pop-oriented tracks like ‘Waiting On My Love’ to the blues-rock romp of closer ‘Tennessee Magnolia’, the album showcases a band of clearly talented musicians who are equally capable of writing music that is heartfelt, musically rich and commercially accessible.
Taken as a whole, Good Luck, Nice To Meet You feels less interested in fitting neatly into one genre than in exploring what happens when several traditions are allowed to overlap. That could easily have resulted in an album that feels disjointed, but the recurring vocal harmonies, strength of the songwriting and obvious chemistry between the band members give the record a strong sense of cohesion.
There is also something distinctly communal about the music. That perhaps should not be surprising given the band’s reputation as a live act and their growing role within the St. Louis roots scene. Appearances at Telluride Bluegrass Festival and on NBC’s The Voice, along with collaborations with Michael McDonald, have helped broaden their audience, while their own Pines Fest has established another connection between the band and the musical community around them.
Pines Fest is now entering its fifth year, and that sense of building something alongside the wider St. Louis music community feels relevant to the character of the album. There is a feeling throughout Good Luck, Nice To Meet You that music is not being treated as something to be preserved behind glass. The traditions are there, but they are being played with, reshaped and combined with newer influences.
Ultimately, that is what makes the album interesting. The Mighty Pines clearly understand the musical history they are drawing from, but they do not appear overly concerned with staying inside its boundaries. Their bluegrass roots sit comfortably alongside soul, funk and rock, while the three-part harmonies give the whole record a recognisable thread.
Listen below:
