Pinback began simply as a side project for members of Three Mile Pilot and Thingy. But over the course of four albums in a dozen years, Pinback has grown to become one of the most popular and well-respected indie bands of the last decade. The partnership of Armistead Burwell Smith and Rob Crow is at the heart of the some of the most intricate, postmodern indie pop happening on the West Coast. Songs are buoyant and lively at times, melancholy and dark at others, and always resonate with an underlying intensity. Pinback lay out beautiful melodies that are deceptively complex, layering sounds and instruments upon one another and trading contrasting vocal part.

Pinback's latest, "Autumn of the Seraphs," pushes forward and upward. Its melodies are more dynamic and aggressive, while still gently pulling you back in again and again. While entirely recorded in the band’s home studios once again, this record is tighter, the drumming more immediate and crisp. Those duties were shared by Mario Rubalcaba (Rocket from the Crypt) and Chris Prescott (No Knife), and... it’s a marked difference from Pinback’s previous releases. “Good to Sea” is the jam of Indian summer. “Walters” saunters its way to a buzzy guitar breakdown while “Subbing for Eden” works steadily toward each climactic chorus. "Autumn of the Seraphs" is for both rabbits and people, for good days and for ones where you should have stayed in bed. It’s Pinback’s best yet, and it’s going to take you over.