Their debut record 'Stand Still and Rot' is a winsome onslaught of fuzzy pop songs with enough intelligence and depth to really make it worth your time.
There are countless bands that grew up on Weezer, Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth, and I sorta feel sorry for Pinact because having those names float around your press releases doesn't come without its preconceptions, yet the truth is that Pinact write songs to rival those bands, not pay homage to them. The band write in an American college rock style which is juxtaposed by vocalist Corrie Gillies' unmistakably Glaswegian accent. Not only have they developed the increasingly rare ability to write straight up alternative rock with a healthy sonic palette, but Pinact have crafted a sound that is distinctively theirs, which is some achievement for a two-piece (at the time of recording) alternative rock band. 'Up or Down' has graduated from The J Mascis School of Writing Great Noisy Rock Songs and gone on to take over as principle, whilst 'Spill Yr Guts, Let Out Some Noise' is a fuzzy, scratchy freakout of an interlude that could only be on a Pinact record. Gillies is a gifted lyricist, and his wonderfully teenage mantras are consistently great throughout the LP's menace (I hate your guts/I love your smile) yet he's perhaps at his best on the record's softer moments: "I miss the days when I would waste my time with you, always" he confesses on the poignant 'Limbs', whilst waiting until closer 'Novembore' to reel off some of his best lyrics on the record between some expertly executed spats of feedback.'Stand Still and Rot' is just one of those records that people listen to and start bands immediately after.
18/20
By Marty Hill
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