another broken promise...

from the washingtonpost:
Pinback's Pent-Up Power Beneath a Sleek Surface
Tuesday, May 24, 2005; Page C04
In Pinback's clean, shimmering recordings, there is never a sense of individual parts working; the songs glide and tick along like the most highly calibrated engine. But to watch one of the San Diego band's live sets -- say, the one it played at the Black Cat on Sunday night -- is to realize how adeptly Rob Crow and Zach Smith weave their voices together to create those distinctive melodic shapes. That duo singing, along with Smith's inventive bass playing, were a joy to observe and, combined with Pinback's invigorating, tightly stitched songs, furthers the group's status as an oasis in the largely arid desert of indie pop.
Smith and Crow fashion most of Pinback's studio recordings, but additional players, like the drummer and two keyboardist/guitarists onstage Sunday, reproduce the songs with a vigorous human kick. Centered on the sparkling new album "Summer in Abbadon," the 90-minute set never lagged. From "Non-Photo Blue" through "Fortress," Smith's bass -- he favors strummed chords and spidery, middle-register figures over traditional low-end timekeeping -- was a dynamic force. And if the surfaces of songs like "AFK" were placid, Crow's voice occasionally roiled underneath, indicating the dismay and darkness that is often found within their densely layered creations. That Pinback simultaneously transmitted lightly frothing tones and somber emotional undertow is a tribute to Smith and Crow's rapid ascension toward the ranks of master pop craftsmen.