Pinback
Biography
While a rotating cast of instrumentalists find loose assembly under the Pinback name, the partnership of Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow is at the heart of the some of the most complex, postmodern indie pop happening on the West Coast. In the first few days of 1998, Armistead Burwell Smith IV (of San Diego-based Three Mile Pilot) and Rob Crow (of Thingy and Heavy Vegetable) formed a part-time recording project under the name Pinback. The simple plan grew more involved while Three Mile Pilot took an indefinite hiatus and Crow put a number of his musical projects on hold. Recording on Smith's home computer, the duo enlisted Three Mile Pilot drummer Tom Zinsor, and by the following August, Pinback had finished recording 14 songs of delicate, canonic pop that was tentatively slated for release on San Diego's Vinyl Communications. However, when interest in the band skyrocketed after a Tim/Ker label showcase at the North by Northwest Music Festival, the record got tied up in a bidding war that caused a slew of contractual problems and held the record in limbo for almost a full year.
When they were eventually cleared from all former obligations, Pinback finally signed with New Jersey's Ace Fu Records, which released their eponymous debut in early 1999, almost a full year after it was recorded. With their long histories in West Coast indie circles and the marriage of the players' diverse musical backgrounds, Pinback scored immediate critical success. The Some Voices EP that followed the next year on Tree Records displayed a slightly more lo-fi and elemental side of the band while building on the intelligently constructed songcraft of their eponymous debut. Blue Screen Life, the band's second studio effort, exuded something more musically pure from Pinback. Gone was the frilly rock nonsense; instead, Pinback went for more of a melodic nature with classic indie flair. The band made their Touch and Go debut in fall 2004 with Summer in Abaddon, which saw the group continue slowly to push themselves a bit further with complex song structure while maintaining their indie pop sensibilities. Two years later, Pinback issued Nautical Antiques, a collection of rarities and B-sides spanning from 1998 to 2001. Their second for Touch and Go, Autumn of the Seraphs, followed in 2007. ~ Nate Cavalieri, All Music Guide
Selected Discography

Autumn Of The Seraphs
2007

Nautical Antiques
2006

Summer In Abaddon
2004

Offcell
2003

Blue Screen Life
2001

Pinback
1998

Some Voices Ep
friend of mine turned me onto pinback in 2002. i have all their stuff now, i love it. i used to be lds too! can't hack it anymore, that religion. i smoke too much to be a member.
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El Tico is Sofa King We Todd Did. Ive Seen Pinback 3 times and am going to see the for the 4th time in like 2 weeks . they are amazing live and in the studio bottom line they are the best! i used to be Mormon and i bet what ever they said was true!!!so El tico dont be ignorant go read a book!4 real!
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Could not agree more with tkunnemann. I've listened to Pinback for about 6 years and have seen them a few times in concert. The last time I saw them will probably be the last. They play their songs about double the tempo of the albums. You leave the show feeling a little cheated, like tkunnemann stated, if you want the same mellow vibe of the albums, but don't get it.
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ive been listening to pinback for almost 5 years now, they never get old. their music is amazing!
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they are a great band, i'm glad pandora has them on here. Best albums you must buy from these guys are Summer in Abaddon & Autumn of the Seraphs.
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never ever ever ever get tired of listening to pinback. love em. love em.
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They had been one of my favorite groups and I loved their work up to and including A Summer in Abaddon. I saw them in Austin, TX Sept '08 and was pretty dissapointed with their performance. They played with much more of a heavy rock theme and less of the cool melodic pieces I had grown to love. I know wasnt alone in my feelings because many others I talked to left the show feeling a little cheated. I havent heard them since and hope they go back more to the SIA and BSL style.
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i would take a bullet for pinback. give my firstborn child to a migit with sharp finger nails. murder my mother. eat razors. shave off my eyelids. get aids.and help a homeless person up from the dirty ground he calls home.
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There is no other band like Pinback.
Rob and Zach are amazing musicians and lyricists. Do check Rob's solo work, which is now quite extensive, as well as Zach's "Systems Officer". Lucky to live in San Diego. I've been fortunate to see Pinback live at least ten times. Don't miss them if they're within a couple hundred radius from your home! |
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listening to this guys, kasabian and some air while riding my moto on hwy 1... i tell you, it's pure dns
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This music is perfect. I love the feeling I get when I listen to Pinback, it puts me in a better place.
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ive seen these guys twice. amazing music, every album seems to bring about their style more and more each time. check out rob crows solo album and a.b.s.IV systems officer and three mile pilot. they really are deep in their compositions .
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I stumbled across Pinback several years ago, and I'm so in love with their style.
They're fantastic writers, exploring dynamics, harmony and interesting timings all wrapped up in great songs that seem to stick in your ear the way Beatles songs do. They've also grown in interesting ways from album to album. |
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They definitely have a certain style to them that makes their songs almost immediately recognizable . That being said, most of their music can range from absolutely boring to positively awesome. I can't seem to really pick up an entire album and listen to it.
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Outstanding, Love these guys. Saw them live a few months back and was impressed. Rock on.
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This is anonther U2 group that went beyond U2. Yet in my opinon it forgets at shead is and failds the SUPERTRAMP circa 70" IQ in music.
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I agree, aqualung does that too, it reminds me of the movie "mirror mask" ... oh sorry... nobody has seen that... except for a select few geeky people :D
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I love Pinback's happy/sad sound. Funny, quirky song titles like 'Loro' and 'Microtronic Wave' give the band an enjoyably neurotic psycho-scien t i f i c sensibility. I don't mind the journey into melancholy that they take me on. They make the melancholy seem warm and welcoming.
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Pinback is and has been one of my all time favorite bands. Can't wait to hear even more music from Rob and Armistead in the future.
p.s.- if you haven't heard Rob Crow's solo albums...che c k them out! |
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Just found these guys and I love pandora for introducing me to a new great band
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