As you may or may not know 
(I may or may not care), I’ve been a huge fan of Blink 182 for years, so when Mark Hoppus started his own podcast, I was all into it. He discussed life and music, much like EnterTheShell.com … Only, ours is insanely better. At any rate, he took it upon himself to introduce his fans to artists you may not hear otherwise or that you would have to search for. One of the songs he played was “Penelope” by a band called Pinback, and I instantly started looking for more material by this San Diego band.
The band has four full-length albums, the latest being 2007’s Autumn of the Seraphs. I really enjoy all of their work and though this attempt doesn’t really change the formula, it’s a good listen.
The first song, “From Nothing to Nowhere,” is very quick and “hard” (for Pinback standards). Their songs are usually really mellow and consist of single string melodies with slightly distorted guitars. “From Nothing to Nowhere” has fast drums and harmonizing vocals everywhere in the verses that at first can be a little overwhelming. The bass hops around a little bit and the drums keep up the pace throughout the entire song. It’s an interesting start of their new album and it seems to be making a statement for the rest of the album.
In “How We Breathe,” we get a tiny sample of the subtle electronic feel that Pinback sprinkles in their albums with a simple beat. The chorus sounds a little bigger when a piano and an acoustic guitar come in to accompany that melody and lead singer Rob Crow’s soft voice. Whispering falsettos as backing vocals add an eerie feel to the song, making it one of the prettiest songs and highlights off of Autumn of the Seraphs.
One thing I always find intriguing and inspiring about (talented) musicians is their ability to come up with seemingly endless arrangements. With Pinback, the band has the signature sound of the short, single string melodies on guitar and they use it in every song, yet they are all different sounding songs. “Devil You Know” starts off with one of their best melodies. It sounds so evil and dark and couple that with the distorted guitar in the chorus? You’ve got a great song in your ears! It sounds a little like it’s all over the place but it’s not overwhelming by any means.
The song that closes out Autumn of the Seraphs is a bit confusing when you first hear it. “Off by 50” has an intro that sounds nothing like the rest of the album. It has an almost metal feel (but once again, the fact that the guitars aren’t overly distorted separates it from actually being metal) that Pinback accomplishes with a slow, drawn out solo and big, slow drums. It gets back to that trademark sound soon enough, though. Their melody is accompanied with this new, slow solo and it gives the song a whole other feeling. There’s a lot more going on here in the way of layers and we all know Sara’s a fan of layers! “Off by 50” is one of the best songs of the album!
Autumn of the Seraphs is a great addition to Pinback’s catalog. Though it’s not breaking any barriers off their sound (which isn’t necessarily bad), it’s not a bad album. They chose a great name because the album does certainly sound angelic at times. It’s a great listen but I have to say some of their earlier songs catch my ear in a bigger way than the songs they offer us in their latest attempt. My hope is that they come back bigger and badder in 2010!
Buy the album at our record store on Amazon
Here are some other pages for ya:
- Covers Revue – Soft Cell covers Gloria Jones
- Album Review – A Strange Arrangement by Mayer Hawthorne
- Artist of the Week – Jack Penate
- A Night Out With ETS and the TV Buddhas
- The Enter The Shell Show – TV on the Telephone