Pinback
Summer In Abaddon
Touch & Go (2004)
Directly after the cover of Pinback's photographically dense lyrics booklet, there is a certain image that I consider of extreme relevance to the rest of this tight, ten-track album. It's a picture of a staircase set in arid yellow stone, one that leads downwards into an old underground bunker. This image, along with a similar and intrinsically linked photo at the end of the booklet, tells me one thing: This is actually a concept album. I didn't realize it at first, but across the 42-minute duration of this disc, Pinback undergo a passage of sorts, whereby they descend into, and ascend from out of, a metaphorical Abaddon. The most relevant definition for the term "Abaddon" is basically "the bottomless pit", or "the abyss". But it's not Hell per say, and that's where the "metaphorical" part comes in. Pinback's Abaddon is not torturous hellfire; it's about stagnation, inertia, and missed opportunities. But as everyone who has experienced these things knows, the two definitions are pretty darn close. Going by the aforementioned photograph, the beginning of this album takes the band (and you, the listener) straight down into its loathsome depths. But the music doesn't represent this - and it's not supposed … Read more
Capillary Action
Fragments
Pangaea Recordings (2004)
I've heard that people who review music are failed musicians. This is not the case with Capillary Action, whose composer/music … Read more
Joanna Newsom
The Milk-Eyed Mender
Drag City (2004)
The Milk-Eyed Mender came out in March and has been gathering press clips like a two-ton goliath going berzerk at … Read more
Bones Brigade
Focused
Fight Fire With Fire (2004)
When a band matures and begins changing their sound on their newest album, fans either embrace it or begin distancing … Read more
