Hunter Pinkston has never been one to color inside the lines. “We believe in some pretty strict rules,” the Pink Stones frontman says. “We also believe in breaking them.” That tension runs straight through the band’s new album Thank The Lord... It’s The Pink Stones, a record that both honors country tradition and gleefully pushes it somewhere new.

Recorded in Athens, GA with co-producer Henry Barbe, the album finds the band weaving together cosmic country, folk, bluegrass, soul, and psychedelic rock. It's their most deliberate and mature work yet, shaped by years of relentless touring and personal change. Pinkston and company lean into humor and heartbreak in equal measure, spinning wry tales of longing, desire, and faith while tipping their hats to heroes like Merle Haggard, Don Williams, and the Byrds.

Formed in Pinkston’s Athens apartment, the Pink Stones broke out with their 2021 debut Introducing... The Pink Stones and quickly earned praise from outlets like Rolling Stone and No Depression. Their 2023 follow-up You Know Who, which featured Nikki Lane, landed on Bandcamp’s Best Country Music list and put the band on festival stages across the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Life on the road reshaped the group’s lineup, with Caleb Boese on pedal steel and Michael Alexander on drums joining longtime members Adam Wayton and Neil Golden beside Pinkston.

That fresh chemistry spills across Thank The Lord..., an album that captures the energy of discovery. Some tracks were road-tested before recording, while others were brought to life in the studio on the fly. The result is loose but assured, full of warmth, wit, and subtle craftsmanship. Songs like the title track and “Such a Sight” explore the contradictions of country’s gospel roots, while “Hometown Hotel” plays with sin and forgiveness. Elsewhere, Pinkston delivers aching stories of loss on “Real Sad Movies, Big Jet Planes” and “Summer’s Love (Winter’s Pain),” and turns to resilience on the lilting “Hard to Kill.”

Still, the most telling moment might be “Too Busy,” a breezy anthem of contentment that slowly unravels into a wild psych-rock jam. It’s a playful reminder of what Pinkston said from the start: the rules are there, but they are made to be broken.