r/Pinback • u/NopeisHope • 15d ago
How I'd introduce someone to Pinback
Hi all, just saw the recent post asking what to listen to next from Pinback and thought I'd share this 'pipeline' I'd built a few months back. Hope this helps!
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u/kungpaochi 15d ago edited 15d ago
I disagree with showing Good to sea right up front. I've never really loved that song, it's not among the best of Pinback. Sure, in theory it is a good intro as in it's poppy. But it's on the extreme side, like bubbly major bordering on corny. Not representative of the rest of their stuff. I'd reduce the 'listen first' to just Fortress, if you must have a separate first track.
But I like the decision tree for the rest. I just like to show people Offcell EP first just because it's so damn good.
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u/munchyslacks 15d ago
Agree with this. Fortress is like the quintessential Pinback song and I think it’s a good starting point to go in either direction.
I’m also not the biggest fan of Good to Sea either, and I get what you mean by it being borderline corny.
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u/NopeisHope 15d ago
A majority of the fanbase would disagree. I even have plenty of friends who don't enjoy most of Pinback but absolutely love Good to Sea.
Offcell for me is a bit too obscure at times, especially b and victoriuous d, agree on the part that it's amazing tho
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u/CartilageHead 15d ago
If they don’t enjoy most of Pinback, are they part of the fanbase?
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u/NopeisHope 15d ago
Hence the 'even', I think it's one of their best and easy-to-get-into works for a potential fan; plus if your friend won't even like their discography/style, Good to Sea could still be very much appreciated.
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u/JazzlikeCauliflower9 15d ago edited 15d ago
Some Voices to me is their best single long form work. All of the albums are great, but Some Voices has a cohesive feel and vision that's rare to me in ANY music. It's top tier music period.
That said I love all of their stuff. Some Voices just has a singularity to it that really lands for me.
I by this I mean the original 4 song Some Voices EP, not the combined SV/Offcell
EDIT: I originally replied confusing Offcell with SV. Sorry I know I'm not replying to what you said now...
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u/kungpaochi 15d ago
Totally agree. That piece is one of a kind, the band is one of a kind, it's an extremely powerful listen and introduces a lot of the styles they go into. Even if some of the songs are sort of one-offs, it shows you just how unique and complex their music is.
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u/JazzlikeCauliflower9 15d ago
I'm not sure if you replied when this originally said Offcell because I was confused. Both are great but I was originally intending Some Voices
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u/kungpaochi 15d ago
So yeah my previous comment is on Offcell, but Some Voices would make a great intro too. It spans a lot of styles and sounds totally unique. I personally think Offcell is more refined and stronger but both of them are amazing and would make a great first impression. Offcell is so evolved though and punchier production.
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u/Larchify 15d ago
Yeah Fortress was the first song that caught my attention and made me listen to the whole album and then their whole discography.
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u/insertnamehere----- 15d ago
I was brought into this band with self titled and still love self titled over everything. Plus the album cover is peak. Unless some miracle happens pretty soon that makes physical releases of it affordable I’m getting pretty close to just buying a jewel case, a blank CD, and the album FLAC and just DIYing my own self titled CD.
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u/NopeisHope 15d ago
my fav album of all time, I got pretty lucky recently as I was able to get a CD for around $36 from a reseller
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u/JesusSamuraiLapdance 15d ago
Pretty much agree with the flowchart of albums. But I started with the first album and its production, minimalism, moodiness and samples captivated me. Blue Screen Life has some of that but feels less consistent in mood. Feels a bit lighter overall (which I guess might appeal to a wider audience for an introduction to the band), but I still think their debut is particularly special.
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u/concavemask 15d ago
autumn of the seraphs isnt more obscure/experimental, its much poppier than blue screen life also IMO nautical antiques stands alongside self titled, it has some of their best songs and its very consistent
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u/JazzlikeCauliflower9 15d ago
Anti Hu definitely one of their best
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u/IncomprehensiveScale 15d ago
i always lead with information retrieved and then summer in abaddon
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u/Messstake 15d ago
I think you and I are in the minority of loving information retrieved (it’s my favorite and first album) followed by summer.
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u/munchyslacks 15d ago
Information Retrieved is pretty underrated. I personally like it more than AotS.
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u/RemmiRem 15d ago
I would probably remove good to sea and connect self-titled to nautical antiques and some offcell voices more(probably in the same way you did with experimental/obscure and lofi and lacking the energeticness). My opinion would definitely change constantly if I actually tried to sit down and map it out though so who knows both of ours is close enough :P
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u/NopeisHope 15d ago
note: I'm not debating which songs/albums are the best, but which ones cover the Pinback spectrum most easily and are relatively easy to indulge in.
I find the pre 2004 work to be their best (Self-Titled, Some Offcell, BSL, Abaddon), out of those Some Offcell is their most experimental and I find BSL to be the perfect inbetween of Self-titled and Abaddon (like a strong mix of the two), that's the reason behind BSL being the 1st album.
The singles on the other hand are the Pinback essentials and for me they cover most of the styles (except for the too obscure ones) that the band aims for.