Pinback — Information Retrieved (2012)

Pinback — Information Retrieved
Location: San Diego, California
Album release: October 16, 2012
Recorded: S.D.R.L. Studios, San Diego, CA
Record Label: Temporary Residence Ltd./TRR 179
Duration:     38:04
Tracks:
01. "Proceed to Memory"      3:51
02. "Glide"      3:59
03. "Drawstring"      3:44
04. "Sherman"      3:36
05. "His Phase"      3:17
06. "Diminished"      3:53
07. "True North"      3:54
08. "A Request"      3:55
09. "Denslow, You Idiot!"      2:59
10. "Sediment"      4:56
≈ Total length:      38:04 
iTunes digital download bonus track: 
11. "CLOAD "Q""   4:03    //    Total length:      42:07 
Amazon.com digital download bonus track: 
11. "Thee Scrum Proggitt"   4:39    //    Total length:      42:46
¶  All songs written and composed by Rob Crow and Zach Smith of Pinback.
Credits:
Primary musicians (Pinback):
• Robertdale Rulon Crow Jr. — Art Conception, Collage, Drum Programming, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Engineer, Vocals, Composer
• Armistead Burwell Smith IV/Zach Smith — Bass, Drum Programming, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Engineer, Percussion, Vocals, Composer
Additional musicians:
• Anton Patzner - Violin
• Lewis Patzner - Cello
• Chris Prescott - Drums
Production:
• Ben Moore - Remixing
• Roger Seibel - Mastering
Album artwork:
• Daniel Danger - Illustrations
• Jeremy DeVine - Layout
• Matt Hoyt - Photography

Review by Gregory Heaney  /  Rating: ****
¶  While it's been five years since their last release, virtually a lifetime in the digital era, the knotty beauty of Pinback's sound makes their fifth album, Information Retrieved, feel as though it could've been released the next day. Existing in a state of both eternal dusk and dawn, Crow and Smith pull off a beautiful balancing act between light and dark, always shifting things here and there so that neither aspect is too dominant. This allows the album to take on whatever characteristics the listener needs it too, readily providing a bit of melancholy to turn to when things are down, or hopeful warmth to keep you riding high, all within the same song. Though this means they pair haven't done a whole lot to innovate over the years, they've created a sound so purely theirs that any significant change would feel disappointing. Pinback's ability to remain so consistent is likely due to indie auteur Crow's penchant for side project (Aspects of Physics, Goblin Cock, etc.), allowing the singer and guitarist to get his other ideas out so that the delicate interplay he and Smith have developed can remain intact. The flipside of this, however, is that Pinback is either a band that you get or you don't, and even though Information Retrieved is an excellent album, it won't do a whole lot to win over anyone who has already decided that Pinback isn't for them. For everyone else, the album delivers plenty of the gloomy/sunny/plaintive/happy pop that has made them one of the more instantly recognizable bands in the indie landscape.
Discography:
Studio albums:
¶  This Is A Pinback CD (1999)
¶  Blue Screen Life (2001)
¶  Summer in Abaddon (2004) U.S. No. 196
¶  Autumn of the Seraphs (2007) U.S. No. 69
¶  Information Retrieved (2012) U.S. No. 71*
* Notes/Details:
¶  The Billboard 200   #71
¶  Top Independent Albums   #16
¶  Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums   #20
¶  Top Rock Albums   #30
Compilations:
¶  Nautical Antiques (2006)

 © Photo credit: Drake/Yoshioka/Dunn
Biography by Nate Cavalieri
¶  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/Kerr 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. Pinback made their Touch & Go debut in fall 2004 with Summer in Abaddon, which saw the bandmembers 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 & Go, Autumn of the Seraphs, followed in 2007. Though it would be five years before Pinback followed up, their 2012 album, Information Retrieved, found them easily settling into their melodic groove.
Completely informations credit by: http://www.allmusic.com  Rob Crow:
Robertdale Rulon "Rob" Crow, Jr.
Also known as: Snotnose
Born: February 21, 1971 in New Jersey
Origin: Encinitas, California, U.S.
¶  Rob Crow is the frontman for the relatively well-known group Pinback. When he's not touring with, or making albums for one of his many collaborations (including the aforementioned Pinback, The Ladies, Goblin Cock, Optiganally Yours, Other Men, Alpha Males, etc.), he makes solo records. His latest album, 'Living Well', is his most focused and heartfelt album yet. He writes some of the most addictive songs we have ever heard, and he often has a giant beard to boot.
Solo discography:
• Rob Crow (split CD with Lesser - 1995)
• Lactose Adept (1996)
• Snotnose EP (as Snotnose) - 1998)
• My Room is a Mess (2003)
• Living Well (2007)
• He Thinks He's People (2011)
Website: http://www.functionbad.com/
Rob Crow at Temporary Residence Ltd.: http://temporaryresidence.com/artists/robcrow © A pic of Armistead Burwell Smith IV; Alembic Stanley Clarke model (bass guitar) / Pic by mkosut             Armistead Burwell Smith IV
Birth name: Armistead Burwell Smith IV
Also known as: Zach Smith, ABSIV, ABS4
Born: May 30, 1970
Origin: Encinitas, California, U.S.
Pinback:
¶  The name Pinback originated from a movie in the early 70's, called "Dark Star". The actually name derived from the movie was by one of the crew members on the space ship who was named "Pinback". Pinback is a band formed and headed by Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow in 1998, it is his most commercially successful project to date. Smith and Crow played music together as early as their days as roommates, and had never released any music; his break from Three Mile Pilot served as a good opportunity for the two to collaborate. Pinback often features Zach's innovative bass playing, with a unique layering of instruments, drum machines, and rich vocals. The band's original recordings, that later became their first album, This is a Pinback CD, were recorded on Smith's personal computer. To date the band has recorded five studio albums, with the latest, Information Retrieved, released on October 16, 2012.
Discography:
Three Mile Pilot:
• Nà Vuccà Dò Lupù (1992)
• Chief Assassin to the Sinister (Cargo/Headhunter 1994)
• Chief Assassin to the Sinister (Geffen 1995)
• Another Desert, Another Sea (1997)
• Three Mile Pilot (Gravity EP) (1998)
• Songs From an Old Town We Once Knew (1999, compilation)
• The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten (Temporary Residence 2010)
Pinback:
• This Is a Pinback CD (1999)
• Blue Screen Life (2001)
• Summer in Abaddon (2004) U.S. #196
• Nautical Antiques (2006, compilation)
• Autumn of the Seraphs (2007) U.S. #69
• Information Retrieved (2012)
Systems Officer:
• Systems Officer EP (2004)
• Underslept (2009)
¶  Interview with Zach Smith by Scott Thill (24 January 05): http://www.morphizm.com/recommends/interviews/pinback_summer.html 

• Systems Officer official site
• Three Mile Pilot official site
• Pinback official site

Review: Hooky melodies, tricky rhythms by Pinback:

Pinback — Information Retrieved (2012)

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