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Autumn of the Seraphs
by Pinback

Pinback reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 79 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.3 out of 10
based on 19 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 10 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The San Diego indie rock band releases their fourth album.

LABEL: Touch & Go
RELEASE DATE: 11 September 2007
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Rock, Alternative

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Delusions of Adequacy
This album is not only the band’s most solid and consummate release to date, not merely one of the most veritable albums 2007 has delivered to us--but also, truly, one of the top albums in the past five years of indie rock history.
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90
Drowned In Sound
Whereas the band's 2004 long-player was a studied exercise in melancholic understatement, melded to some mightily addictive pop hooks, this ten-tracker is an immediately gratifying affair that pulls not a single punch in the catchiness stakes.
Read Full Review
83
Stylus Magazine
There’s usually more than meets the ear about their aural illusions, and they’ve gotten more overt about sticking in some genuine pop missives into their lattices of clean guitars and metronomic drums.
Read Full Review
80
Alternative Press
Autumn represents Pinback's strongest album to date. [Oct 2007, p.162]
80
Prefix Magazine
It is a snapshot of Pinback at its most practiced and self-aware: fluid, calculated, penetrating, yet always at the fringe of its former incarnation.
Read Full Review
80
Mojo
Autumn of the Seraphs is some of their punchiest work, packed with euphoric melodies, wry lyricism and subtly enhanced grooves. [Oct 2007, p.99]
80
Under The Radar
A tremendously melodic and catchy sensibility. [Summer 2007, p.76]
80
NOW Magazine
The rest of Autumn Of The Seraphs sounds a bit more meticulous, though it's self-assured in its footing.
Read Full Review
80
Magnet
For the first time, they’ve refined that obsession into something listeners can sink their teeth into.
Read Full Review
78
Pitchfork
If there's a gripe to be had with them, it's that a surface listen reveals a whole lot of lovely tones and not much else, and Autumn of the Seraphs is just as uniformly gorgeous and tasteful as any Pinback record.
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75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
The band has crafted yet another delicate indie-pop bauble. Finely spun as it is, there's a hint of sinew.
Read Full Review
70
Tiny Mix Tapes
One can’t declare Autumn of the Seraphs, Pinback’s fourth full-length, any better than their first, second, or third album.
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70
Village Voice
Opener 'From Nothing to Nowhere' also makes the case that Pinback's ready for some new fans: It's fast and furious, nicely setting a tempo that suggests they're not fucking around while conveying a (much-needed) immediacy through Rob Crow's voice.
Read Full Review
70
PopMatters
Yet good songs alone do not a spectacular album make. Autumn of the Seraphs shows no major songwriting leaps at all, but it’s still a fine indie-rock LP.
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70
All Music Guide
Pinback don't disappoint with their fourth record, Autumn of the Seraphs.
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70
Billboard
Several songs near the end go on too long, content to just keep repeating riffs over and over. Still, when Autumn is on point, it offers some of Pinback's best tunes yet.
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70
Lost At Sea
Autumn Of The Seraphs is more of the same I have come to expect from Pinback--lovely harmonies and catchy hooks, all with an underlying emotional depth.
Read Full Review
60
Spin
Too many perfectly good songs that never quite approach greatness. [Oct 2007, p.108]
58
cokemachineglow
The album is frontloaded with its best numbers, and they seem to descend in quality as the album progresses.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ben M gave it a3:
I've liked some older Pinback tracks quite a lot, but I really can't find anything to like there. It's all so noodly, and smooth - even when they try to turn up the rock a little bit, it all sounds the same to me.

Brian G gave it an8:
While not the best Pinback album, Autumns of the Seraphs is a better than average pop record by 2 extraordinary musicians. It has such a positive, So-Cal vibe you can't help but tap your toe! Good to Sea is the stand out track on the album.

Jo gave it a6:
Pretty ok, and although this is a more varied album of Pinback their formula is still too omni-present. Some very good tracks (Walters lyrically and musically being my favourite) but not as good as Blue Screen Life or This is a Pinback CD.

Sean T. gave it an8:
A number of the songs don't sit particularly well with the rest of the album (in particular, Off by 50 seems out of place). The band has been asked for variety, which is all well and good, but it seems illogical to put tracks like Devil You Know and Good to Sea side-by-side. I enjoy the rolling, dreaming feel of Pinback; it's mellow, and it irks me when they try to be something else. It's a wonderful album, but it isn't their best by a long shot, and they can do a lot better (Blue Screen Life and Summer in Abaddon are evidence of that).

Dylan P. gave it a5:
not awful. as good as any other pinback record. their sound needs to take some new chances before it gets old though.

Felix gave it a9:
Another great album from Pinback, although not as good as Summer in Abaddon.

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