reax music magazine :: music + culture » Reviews » Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs

Autumn of the Seraphs, Pinback’s 4th full length, offers a perfection of the sound made classic by the San Diego duo: minimalist, punctuated by syncopated rhythms, melodic bass lines, and plaintive overlapping vocals that weave dreamy and non-linear tales of everything from Star Wars to pet goldfish. That being said, Seraphs treads more serious territory than the previous release. A 9/11 release date forces a question of significance, one answered with a seemingly broader vision than typical Pinback. A hint of some universal message resounds in the final chorus of the final track “Off By 50”, when Rob Crowe dolefully sings “Separate the world” over dark, slow guitars. However, this universality is ultimately nothing more than a shadow behind the intimate and navel-gazing sound produced by Crowe and Zach Smith, a sound that has found itself one of the most distinctive in indie rock. – Becca Nelson