Pinback. A rotten name for a band with what appears to be a penchant for rotten artwork and rotten song titles too.

If you saw Autumn Of The Seraphs on the shelf in your local indie, you’d mistake it for some late seventies metal album, with its pretentious gothic illustration of a statue of a depressed angel on a tomb and song titles like ‘Devil You Know’ and ‘Subbing For Eden’. But this belies what is within, as Pinback’s music is more akin to the stoner rock elements of Yo La Tengo and the sweet sullen melodies of Elliott Smith.

Arrangements are sparse, relying on little more than guitar, bass and drums, with vocals that flow hazily and lazily. When the odd flourish of piano or strings appears, it has all the more impact for the starkness that surrounds it. With this album, Pinback have produced what is a great exercise in wallowing self-pity, and sometimes that’s what is best about music.

Matt Oakes