← more from
Royal Oakie Records LLC
  1. music
  2. merch
  3. community

Too Bright Planet

by Strange Pilgrim

supported by
burningernies
burningernies thumbnail
Brent Hickman
Brent Hickman thumbnail
Alex Ruder / Hush Hush Records
Alex Ruder / Hush Hush Records thumbnail
Michelektel
Michelektel thumbnail
aruga-mama
aruga-mama thumbnail
Jeff
Jeff thumbnail
ba
ba thumbnail
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card
    Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited Edition 12" Vinyl LP with a full color jacket and insert featuring original artwork by Dale Barnhart and design & layout by Mia Pinzelik.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Too Bright Planet via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Limited Edition Compact Disc housed in a full color digipak featuring original artwork by Dale Barnhart and design & layout by Mia Pinzelik. Made in the USA.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Too Bright Planet via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

1.
Late Light 03:34
buy track
2.
Through the Branches 03:22
buy track
3.
Restless Mind 03:28
buy track
4.
Some Quiet Dream 05:09
buy track
5.
Next to Me 03:50
buy track
6.
Before the Sun 04:24
buy track
7.
Back to the Heart 02:56
buy track
8.
One Day 02:07
buy track
9.
Too Bright Planet 03:18
buy track
10.
In the Rain 02:59
buy track

about

"Too Bright Planet" is the new album from Portland, OR based indie-rock band Strange Pilgrim, releasing September 26th on Royal Oakie Records. Following up their critically acclaimed self-titled album (2022) and recently released "Embers" EP (2025), the new album finds the band fleshed out with a new lineup featuring Pat Spurgeon (Rogue Wave, Dandy Warhols, Federale) and Elliott Kay.

Led by multi-instrumentalist & songwriter Josh Barnhart, Strange Pilgrim crafts a unique sound that balances introspective lyricism and restless musicality to create something both intimate and expansive. Their music captures a spirit of quiet exploration—thoughtful but never insular, wandering yet profoundly grounded. Thriving on collaboration, their collective experience and distinct musical perspectives shape Strange Pilgrim’s sound—a blend of driving rhythms, melodic bass lines, and textured guitars.

Building on the kaleidoscopic dream pop and psych rock of their debut album, the band spreads their wings on "Too Bright Planet"–incorporating influences ranging from The Grateful Dead to Brian Eno and The Velvet Underground to create a moody vibe that recalls early 70’s Fleetwood Mac, Luna’s "Penthouse", and Jonathan Wilson’s "Gentle Spirit". Produced by Josh Barnhart, the basic tracks were recorded live at Bocce Recording in Vancouver, WA, engineered & mixed by Cory Gray (Lee Baggett, Califone), and mastered by David Glasebrook (Patti Smith, Michael Nau, Sugar Candy Mountain) at The Garden Shed in Oakland, CA. The album features guest contributions from Maggie Morris of Sunbathe, Cory Gray of Old Unconscious & The Delines, and labelmate Caleb Nichols.

Whereas the band’s debut album explored themes of alienation and dislocation (the band’s name is taken from a collection of short stories by Gabriel García Márquez), the songs on the new album lean into acceptance, rebirth, and forward movement, inspired by the poetry of Robert Hass, the films of Sara Dosa, Akira Kurosawa, and Wim Wenders, and the art of Gerhard Richter. Title track "Too Bright Planet" is a surreal walk through the memory of a single day—the day you meet someone who changes your life. It moves through sunlight and shadow, morning to night, anchored by a moment at dusk when a planet appears so bright it feels almost unreal. Meanwhile, “Late Light” opens the album with a surreal portrait of a slow, dragging night shift, easing the listener in and inviting them to settle into a space where the lines between the mundane and the dreamlike begin to blur.

Over the past few years Barnhart’s writing has increasingly explored memory, family, inherited identity, and the effort to access what feels just out of reach. Fittingly, album track “Some Quiet Dream” features repurposed lines from "Praise" by Robert Hass (one of Barnhart’s mentors) and the album cover features a painting by Barnhart’s grandfather Dale Barnhart, an oil painter who experimented with cubist styles. “This painting hangs in one of my sister’s homes, and I’ve always loved it—the colors, the shapes, the bright moon. Its atmosphere felt deeply in sync with the lyrical and sonic world of the album, and it was one of the first images that came to mind for the cover” says Barnhart.

credits

released September 26, 2025

Produced by Josh Barnhart
Engineered and mixed by Cory Gray at Bocce Recording in Vancouver, WA
Mastered by David Glasebrook at the Garden Shed in Oakland, CA
All songs by Joshua Emerson Barnhart © 2025 (BMI)
Artwork by Dale Barnhart
Layout and Design by Mia Pinzelik
“Some Quiet Dream” incorporates lines from Praise by Robert Hass

Josh Barnhart: Vocals, guitar, percussion, synth
Elliott Kay: Bass, guitar
Pat Spurgeon: Drums, percussion, guitar
Cory Gray: Keys, horns, melodica
Maggie Morris: Backing vocals
Caleb Nichols: Electric chimes on “One Day”

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Strange Pilgrim image

Strange Pilgrim Portland, Oregon

Drawing on themes of dislocation and dreamlike imagery, Strange Pilgrim is an exploration of living in an increasingly unfamiliar world. Much of their lyrical content focuses on the social and political uncertainty of these times, on connecting with nature, and on yearning for some form of freedom. ... more

contact / help

Contact Strange Pilgrim

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Strange Pilgrim, you may also like: