Pinback have been creating an intricate sort of bedroom-composed, somber indie pop for over a decade now, and their most recent effort, 2007’s Autumn of the Seraphs, showed that they have no plans of dumbing down or, well, cheering up anytime soon. Ever since we first heard the two-part, swirling, utterly unintelligible harmonizing vocals on 2001’s Blue Screen Life, we’ve had a soft spot for this San Diego-based duo—try though they might to make music that is dangerously close to the dreaded “emo.” All right, so maybe we have mixed feelings about Pinback, but it isn’t because they lack skill. Their dexterously picked, interwoven guitar and bass parts are hypnotizing in their plinking, looping excellence, and their vocal melodies, austere though they may be, are beautifully executed. It’s just that…well, every time we hear a Pinback song, we’re going to be forced to remember that embarrassingly emotional mix CD we made a certain special someone back in ’02. But hey, that’s not Pinback’s fault.
Wed., Oct. 21, 9 p.m., 2009
Wed., Oct. 21, 9 p.m., 2009
