Sunday, September 30th, 2007

Sunday Cleaning – Volume 78

Pinback / Autumn Of The Seraphs (Touch And Go)

I find the sonics of Pinback fascinating. Rob Crow’s songs always seem to be on the verge of seething with tension and anxiety, but they’re always presented in these meticulously produced packages. The vocals are almost zen-like in their serenity, even when he’s raging at the mic, and the guitars – my latent guitar geek would love to know how they make a tone that I’d otherwise consider to be overly-clean, bordering on lifeless, sound so very much the opposite of lifeless. Like Summer In Abbadon before it, Autumn Of The Seraphs is a study in whispered screams and the lines between bared teeth and a grin, delivered in deceptive pop song trappings. Bracing stuff, and I’ll forgive the blatant Police rip that opens “Blue Harvest”.

Pinback are at the Opera House on October 12.

MP3: Pinback – “From Nothing To Nowhere”
Video: Pinback – “From Nothing To Nowhere” (YouTube)
MySpace: Pinback

Static Of The Gods / Cycles Follow Signs (Del Verano)

Boston boasts a strong tradition of turning out superb female-led power pop bands and though none of the members are Beantown natives, it’s in the footsteps of the likes of Juliana Hatfield, Belly and Fuzzy that Static Of The Gods seeks to follow. For the most part, they craft straightforward pop-rock in the mould of Letters To Cleo though Jen Johnson’s pipes are more muscular than Kay Hanley’s more girlish delivery. The power-trio arrangements are also leaner with a familiar blend of jangle and crunch and the songs are pleasantly melodic if a bit light in strong hooks, but I can’t help but wish they demonstrated more of the musical eccentricity and idiosyncrasies of their forebears. Maybe there just used to be something in the water.

Static Of The Gods are in town as part of Indie Week for a show at Rancho Relaxo on October 12.

MP3: Static Of The Gods – “2.33”
MP3: Static Of The Gods – “User”
MP3: Static Of The Gods – “Swing And Sway”
MP3: Static Of The Gods – “The Offering”
MySpace: Static Of The Gods

By : Frank Yang at 12:38 pm
Category: Uncategorized
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  1. ack says:

    I actually thought it was going to be a Police cover, and I cringed. Now the song has really grown on me.

  2. stopokaygo says:

    I cannot stop playing Pinback’s song Good to Sea, and zen-like is the perfect way to describe the feel to their music.