San Diego's hometown heroes Pinback are playing tonight at the Belly Up, a month after their second EP release of the Information Retrieved series, which are in anticipation of a full-length in 2012.
There are so many elements that make Pinback, best described as low-key, a quintessential San Diego band. They're gentle and emotive, yet craft complex instrumentation when necessary. Having assembled a strong following over more than a decade, the band's formula for success has always been: consistency.The allure of Pinback is in its sparseness; it allows listeners to digest complicated emotions in packaged pop songs.
Founding members Zach Smith and Rob Crow have been keeping busy since their 2007 release, Autumn of the Seraphs. Crow, who also plays bass and sings in Three Mile Pilot, reunited with the band after 10 years and put out The Inevitable Past Is the Future Forgotten and also put out his own LP, He Thinks He's People, while Smith's solo project, Systems Officer, debuted an album called Underslept. They've also been touring on and off since April and kept fans relatively sated with Information Received EPs (PT A/B).
Along with the 2012 release, there have been murmurs, reported in October by Brooklyn Vegan, about a music documentary about the band. A Kickstarter campaign was launched by an L.A. filmmaker who seemed determined to tell the story of his friends. He explained that he has a fair bit of footage he's compiling, yet for some reason the campaign was canceled.
Perhaps we can look forward to a combination LP and documentary in 2012? In the mysterious world of Pinback, we will likely never know until it's released. To the lucky few who snagged a ticket: Enjoy their sold-out show (with Ghetto Blaster) at the Belly Up.
Nada Alic runs the San Diego-based music blog Friends With Both Arms.Follow her updates on Twitter or contact her directly.
