Pinebender's latest LP hides its pleasures out in the open, rewarding those who listen closely. Compliments like "focused" and "patient" may sound backhanded, but it's the band's brand of tunnel vision that elevates its third album Working Nine to Wolf from stale post-grunge to a notable release in its career.
True, you may hear nothing but tired blues-scale hammering and sludgy distortion on opener "Parade of Horribles", and I'll grant that this is the one track on Working Nine to Wolf that's a few minutes too long-- with a forced vocal and the uninspired guitar diddling that closes its 13th minute. But to dismiss them out of hand for playing familiar tropes and playing them sluggishly would be ignoring the record's raison d'etre: To take these classic riffs and stretch and tease them with the deliberate pacing stolen from bands like Mogwai, giving these straightforward guitar workouts a graceful, epic feel without sacrificing melody or structure.
The masterplan is more apparent on "She Destroys the Light", a gentle undistorted pluck over padded drums and splashes of hi-hat that unexpectedly bursts out with a staccato sing-along. Every hammer on-and-off in "Mask Tree" is deliberate and rich with melody, burrowing into the memory from first listen. Pacing and tunefulness come together best on "Polly Gray", the album's most immediate track-- one that lumbers and croons at the same time. Simple but hypnotic drums anchor "Broadcast All Your Dreams", and the throaty anthem "Decide on the Double Cross" could be your favorite Guided By Voices single slowed to 33 1/3.
The record may sound overly familiar, but no part of Working Nine To Wolf is lazy. If anything, this record is too uptight, too exact in its arrangements and too tightly-plotted in their songs; the record is often unpredictable, but never very loose. Well-tread riffs and occasionally bland vocals were red flags at first listen, but rather than looking outside for new textures, Pinebender put their head down and burrowed "forward, forward, forward," as singer Chris Hanson wails on "Broadcast All Your Dreams". Surprisingly, their insistence pays off.
