Pinwheel Valley Explores the Space Between Grief and Hope on New Album 'Between Bone and Light'

Indie alternative project Pinwheel Valley is exploring the complexities of human nature on Between Bone and Light, a seven-track album examining grief, resilience, forgiveness, and the search for meaning. Blending indie rock, folktronica, psychedelic guitars, and cinematic electronic production, the record brings together contrasting musical influences while maintaining a strong emotional foundation.

Having earned recognition from EARMILK, CLASH, and Wonderland, alongside radio support from BBC Radio London and NPR Music, Pinwheel Valley continues to develop a sound that refuses to settle comfortably into one genre.

Every composition on Between Bone and Light originated on piano, providing a common foundation for arrangements that expand into layered synthesizers, live drums, and atmospheric guitars. The album opens with a reinterpretation of Radiohead's “Everything In Its Right Place,” replacing some of the original's electronic austerity with a more organic, spacious atmosphere.

“Your Superman” explores the transition from vulnerability to self-empowerment, while “Go Your Way” examines grief and the complicated process of accepting loss. The darker “Werewolf” uses its supernatural premise to explore social alienation and the destructive consequences of marginalization.

“Holding On” and “Hello from Afar” form an emotional centerpiece, imagining connection beyond death through psychedelic textures and reflective songwriting. The closing track, “Run Wild,” shifts toward fractured relationships, confronting resentment and the difficult necessity of forgiveness.

What makes Between Bone and Light compelling is its willingness to explore uncomfortable emotional territory without offering easy resolutions. Pinwheel Valley allows each composition its own identity while maintaining a cohesive artistic vision, delivering a thoughtful, immersive record that rewards listeners willing to explore its many layers.

“Between Bone and Light” explores the contradictions within human nature, from compassion to destruction. What inspired this concept, and did creating the album change your perspective on these opposing forces?

Since Between Bone and Light brings together compositions written over the course of two years, I think the concept emerged quite organically rather than being something I consciously set out to explore. Two years is a significant stretch of time in anyone’s life, filled with different experiences, emotions, and shifting perspectives.

Naturally, those experiences find their way into the music, often through very different themes and emotional landscapes. Looking back at these works as a whole, I began to recognize a common thread: the contradictions that exist within us, and our capacity for both compassion and destruction. In that sense, the album didn't necessarily change my perspective on human nature as much as it allowed me to see how these opposing forces had been reflected in my writing all along.

Every track began on piano before evolving into layered, genre-blending arrangements. How did you maintain a cohesive sound while giving each song its own musical identity?

I think, first and foremost, there's a certain creative fingerprint that naturally runs through everything I write, whether I'm consciously aware of it or not. Even when exploring different genres, textures, and arrangements, I tend to gravitate toward a musical language that feels inherently my own. Beyond that, I was quite intentional about selecting pieces that fell within a relatively similar BPM range, which helped establish a sense of continuity throughout the album. And of course, the piano played an important role in tying everything together.

Since every composition originated on the piano, that foundation remains present in some form, even as the arrangements evolve and take on their own identities. I think the combination of these elements allowed each track to have its own character while still feeling part of a larger, cohesive body of work.

You open the album with a reinterpretation of Radiohead's “Everything In Its Right Place.” What drew you to this particular song, and what did you hope to bring to it that felt distinctly your own?

I’ve always been fascinated by the compositional brilliance of that track. It never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I listen to it. The sheer number of interpretations it has inspired over the years is a testament to its timelessness, and I was curious to see what would happen if I approached it through my own creative lens. I knew from the outset that I wanted to incorporate drums and guitars, as I often do in my work, which would already take the arrangement in a different direction from the Rhodes- and synth-driven minimalism of the original.

Ultimately, I wanted to create something that felt unmistakably like a Pinwheel Valley interpretation, while still preserving the essence of what makes the original so special. And from a vocal standpoint, the intention was never to try to outdo Thom Yorke in any way. It was simply about paying homage to a song I've admired for years, while allowing my own musical identity to find its place within it.

“Werewolf” explores how social alienation can push someone toward destructive behavior. What inspired this narrative, and how much of it reflects your observations of society today?

I think the narrative was largely inspired by observing just how turbulent and increasingly polarized the state of world affairs has become in recent years. You see it in the way immigration has become such a contentious issue across Europe and the US, and of course in the plight of the Palestinian people, which demonstrates just how profoundly a population can be marginalized under an overwhelming imbalance of political and military power.

But I think the underlying message extends beyond these larger geopolitical realities and trickles down into the everyday struggles of ordinary people, particularly the working class, who increasingly find themselves pushed to the margins by the ruthless and unforgiving nature of late-stage capitalism.

What interests me is how prolonged alienation, disenfranchisement, and a sense of powerlessness can gradually turn into resentment and, in some cases, destructive behavior, whether directed inward or toward others. I suppose Werewolf is ultimately an exploration of that transformation, and how the conditions we create as a society can sometimes give rise to the very destructive forces we then condemn.

From the grief explored in “Holding On” and “Hello from Afar” to the forgiveness at the heart of “Run Wild,” the album examines different forms of human connection. What do you hope listeners take away from these stories?

I think the overarching message of the album is closely tied to the symbolism of its cover art, which reflects the journey of the human condition from flesh to light. Along that journey, we experience a vast spectrum of emotions, each of which plays a fundamental role in shaping who we are and how we relate to one another. While it's impossible to capture the full complexity of the human experience in a single body of work, I feel that the songs on this album each represent a distinct emotional or existential state that is intrinsic to our nature.

In that sense, ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ represents equilibrium and stillness; ‘Your Superman’ embodies ascendance and empowerment; ‘Go Your Way’ explores surrender and release; ‘Werewolf’ reflects rupture and alienation; ‘Hello from Afar’ and ‘Holding On’ navigate transcendence and longing; and finally, ‘Run Wild’ represents forgiveness.

Together, these pieces form something of an emotional map of the human condition.

Ultimately, what I hope listeners take away is a sense of recognition within these experiences, and perhaps an understanding that even our most contradictory emotions are part of the same shared human journey. The movement from flesh to light isn't necessarily a linear progression toward something better, but rather an exploration of everything that makes us human along the way.