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Recorded live and in sequence in their own basement practice room, this third full-length from Minneapolis four-piece The Pins has all the intensity and intimacy of a private gig. The addition of electric piano and moog to the standard power-trio set-up gives a further dimension to a set that fuses the swirling, carefree meanderings of Galaxie 500 with the in-yer-face guitar of, say, Built to Spill. Sadly they lack Wareham or Martsch's melodic knack and idiosyncratic delivery, neither guitarist Rich Barlow nor keysman Steve Shaskam possessing a distinctive vocal punch. In many ways theirs and drummer Beth Van Dam's voices combine to form a further layer on The Pins' sonic canvas, one that seems to have thrown away the rule-book in favour of an instinctive ebb and flow. Neither as subdued as Low or as alienating as Flying Saucer Attack, theirs is a night sky darkened by foreboding.

Matt Dornan
CWAS #4 - Winter 1998/9 - The Lost Issue

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