I had a long music discussion with Calth over the weekend and I remember at one point claiming that American Football were a “jazzier Pinback”. Since I know we have quite a few Pinback fans on here, I thought I’d post a track to check the validity of that statement.

AF’s one and only self-titled LP (1999) is one of my fav relaxation albums of all time — slightly jazzy, introspective (it’s made by a Kinsella brother after all), killer drumming, and some extremely precise guitar work reminiscent of bands like Pinback or Slint. Anyway, check out the lead-off track, “Never Meant”. The sequence at 2:13 where that lead guitar riff comes in, followed by the tamborine at 2:34 gets me every time. Jazzier Pinback?

UPDATE: Evidence number the 2:

The third track from the same album. “Honestly?”:

Note the bass line at the beginning that carries much of the song (“Syracuse”? “Non-Photo Blue”? “Tripoli”?). I’d also like to turn your attention to the vocals, particularly at 0:42 and 1:22. Although sung by a single vocalist, the overdubbed delivery is similar to the Crow + Smith back and forth delivery on most Pinback tracks (“From Nothing To Nowhere”? “Offline PK”?). Then comes the extended jam, which is admittedly less comparable, hence the “jazzier”, perhaps “looser”, addendum. Though it’s kinda what I would imagine “Grey Machine” sounding like if it wasn’t written by Pinback.

Anyway, not saying either of these bands are just different versions of each other. I actually find it difficult to come up with comparable bands for both of them, since they have such distinct sounds.