Pinstripe's Astronomy

In the complex world of indie rock, it's sometimes difficult to know where you fit in. With so many bands issuing laments of unrequited love or angry rants about their political marginalization, what's a young band to do? It seems as if all the angles have been covered. Pinstripe, a young band comprised of three Yale students, guitarist Webster McBride, BK '99, drummer Hrishikesh Hirway, MC '00, and bassist Karl Tupper, BK '00, avoid this problem by completely ignoring it. Their music does not strike out for wholly uncharted territory but nonetheless creates a pleasing blend of assured instrumentation and somewhat surreal lyrics.

Pinstripe's music is dificult to pin down--a combination of Nirvana's whisper-to-a-scream dynamics and Sebadoh's subtly harsh lullabies, but with a softer sound than either of those bands. On the whole, Astronomy evokes a mood of three musicians sitting around a campfire, entertaining each other with their instruments. The campfire vibe is most prominent on the fifth track, an instrumental called "Don't Expect." The song opens with a quiet instrumental passage led by rumbling bass, which slowly blooms into a full-on jam, with guitar and bass dueling for supremacy. By its close, the song settles back into a gentler groove, reminiscent of Pearl Jam in their more peaceful moments.

The album's best songs come mostly toward the end of the album, with the final two tracks, "Splitseam" and "Watermelon Seed," standing out. "Splitseam" features a complex double-barreled rhythm that breaks out approximately one minute into the song and weaves a hypnotic spell. The lyrics, covering themes like undressing for lovers by the light of television screens, fit naturally with the overall mood. The song is reminiscent of Hum's forgotten gem from a few years back, "Stars," in its lazy groove and sense of American stoner-dreamer lyricism. The final track, "Watermelon Seed," veers into a woozy up-and-down guitar line replete with crashing drums, a suitable coda for the album.

The songs are constructed to feature each of the players momentarily, to allow each his moment in the spotlight--but nothing as gauche as a solo. There are simply passing instants of instrumental flash. Tup-
per is the standout on Astronomy, even though McBride and Hirway are also talented musicians, each taking on lead vocal duties on the disc.

Astronomy is a promising effort by Pinstripe, highlighting their instrumental talents and downplaying their relative lack of lyrical focus. They seem to be violating the punk ethos of having something to say and then learning how to play their instruments, but isn't punk about breaking all the rules anyway? There is a drawing in the CD booklet of a man standing inside a giant telescope, gazing at the stars, an image reminiscent of A Trip to the Moon, one of the first films ever made. If Pinstripe can convey the sense of untold vistas somewhere in the future that is described in that film, then they have a bright future ahead of them. (Garbage Czar)

--Saul Austerlitz

--Saul Austerlitz

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