Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs (Album)
Pinback are an indie rock band hailing from San Diego, California and they're not fresh out of the garage either, they've been a band for nearly 10 years. With a Weezer-esque, brit-pop sound the two piece defiantly bring a different approach to the music they've produced, playing an average of 10 or so instruments between them.
Firstly the cover art and insert of 'Autumn of The Seraphs', is quite impressive, a huge fold out of all the lyrics and some appealing artwork in included and that's something to admire especially since most artists pick one or the other.
The first six tracks of the album are pretty much the same thing. 'From Nothing To Nowhere' is a great opener but I was really expecting to go somewhere afterwards. Then 'Devil You Know' comes out of nowhere and really brings out the otherwise subdued talent of the pairing, with strong guitars and surprisingly strong and diverse vocals, it's quite a jam packed song.
The album takes a turn and pulls out all the cards here, half way through leaving the opening tracks in the dust. Still, the band likes their songs slow and steady and "Off By 50" gives an appropriate salute, a moody track with lots of little surprises popping up throughout the track. A eerie synth presents itself last minute before the whole the song abruptly drops off.
The limited edition of the "Autumn Of The Seraphs" comes with a bonus EP with 3 tracks of previously unreleased and non-LP songs, also giving us the title of the album, 'Autumn Of The Seraphs' sneakily put on the very end of the EP. 'I'm A Pretty Lady' provides a good little chuckle and some nicely placed acoustic guitar picking.
'Autumn of The Seraphs' is the track you've been waiting for the whole time and with a where everything just works this is the magic track where the soft vocals, piano and emotion really comes into play. A change in speed, if only slight, ploughs it through to the last few chords played where they taunt you with the sporadic beat of a drum edging you in for more.
It's a good steady album, there's no doubt about that and it has the right memorable tracks that pulls you in for more. Softly spoken, turn up your speakers singing at it's best, a lot of the music depends on it's poetic lyrics, clean up beat and listener friendly. If you're up for a tasteful easy listening album with enough grunt and variety to keep you entertained, Pinback's "Autumn of The Seraphs" is for you. Try your hardest to get the special edition with the bonus EP too, those 3 tracks are worth it.
