Additional personnel: Tom (drums).

Liner Note Author: Roberto Espinoza C.

NAUTICAL ANTIQUES, Pinback's first release following its lauded 2004 album, SUMMER IN ABADDON, collects B-sides and rarities from the San Diego-based indie-rock band's earlier tenure with the Ace Fu label. Led by vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow, the group reveals that its stray songs are often on par with its album tracks, particularly the opening version of the mesmerizing, vaguely reggae-like "Messenger" and the gentle, lilting "Byzantine." In addition, fans of BLUE SCREEN LIFE will enjoy a pair of demo tracks from that outing, most notably a beat-driven, lo-fi version of "Concrete Seconds" that arguably tops its more familiar counterpart. While those new to Pinback's inviting, laid-back sound would do best to start with one of the aforementioned records, this compilation is essential for the devoted followers of the ensemble.

Instead of releasing a proper follow-up to 2004's indie rock hit Summer in Abaddon, San Diego's Pinback peruse their earlier catalog for a solid collection of B-sides, outtakes, and rarities entitled Nautical Antiques. For fans who have already shelled out the extra cash for some of their European-only tracks or for those who have heard these songs in concert, Nautical Antiques is a perfect reflection of Pinback's growing presence in the ever-changing indie rock circle. The listener won't even notice its scattered track listing either, for Pinback has never existed in one particular space and time. From the Ace Fu Internet download and the full-band version of "Messenger" to other unreleased tracks such as the melancholic "Water Run," "Avignon," and the "Concrete Seconds" demo, Nautical Antiques holds steady just as much as any proper album would. The limited-edition This Is a Pinback CD, which appeared on Cuttyshark in the States in 2000, didn't include the lilting piano measures of "Versailles" or the raw acoustic guitars of "Byzantine." Lucky for fans, Nautical Antiques has 'em, on top of the now out-of-print Penelope EP. Not only is Nautical Antiques a solid filler between albums and a great slide show of years past, but it comes off like a brand-new Pinback record. ~ MacKenzie Wilson