from Pitchfork by Andrew Goldman

Pinback - Pinback

Pinback-- sprung from the loins of San Diego's Three Mile Pilot-- makes music of a howlingly bittersweet variety that is at once joyful and melancholy. And if their recent self-titled album is any indication, Pinback may be ready to join the ranks of emotionally confused super-songwriters alongside Modest Mouse, Sunny Day Real Estate, and the Sea and Cake.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Great. Just what we need. Another Sunny Day rip-off." Well, if Pinback sounded anything like any of the aforementioned bands as a whole, I would have to agree. Instead, they've snagged the better aspects of the three and mixed 'em around enough to cook up something mighty good. Any self-respecting cook knows you can't make an omelet out of a turd. Likewise, there ain't nothing wrong with picking good musical ingredients, just so long as you don't add too much of this or that.

"Tripoli," Pinback's opening track, starts with the kind of drum massacre you'd expect from Modest Mouse. Then the voices enter-- two of them, to be precise. Two superb, soft, vibrato-less voices, free of Isaac Brock's snarl or Jeremy Enigk's affected accent. Voices singing about death and pushing babies down spiral stairs, conveying a gut-wrenching loneliness. Voices that make this album from beautiful start to beautiful finish. Hey, they're compelling voices. In fact, they're so compelling that it becomes easy to ignore the sweet humming of minimal keyboard lines, and guitar playing that occasionally drops hints of Enigk and Prewitt.

Less flatteringly, though, all the attention to the vocals may obscure the fact that the bass tone sounds about as interesting as an instructional cassette relaying Gateway motherboard jumper settings. And the guitar melodies are, in most cases, inexcusably damaged by the flat recording quality. But perhaps worst of all, these accomplished musicians (who sing, scratch, play guitar, bass, keyboards, timpani, and cello) rely on the simulated snares of a drum machine for the majority of the album. There's a sour taste in my mouth, and I think I know how it got there.

Still, this album is warmly cool. It's the kind of record that radiates a sense of security while tying your shoelaces together. That Pinback pulls that difficult feat off should be enough to warrant repeated listens. At least, it should be...