- “I’m not a human being / I’m part of the machine / And that’s alright with me” Pinch Points proclaimed at the climax of their debut 2018 EP Mechanical Injury. The tongue-in-cheek, garage rock-meet-weirdo-post-punk release screamed Minneapolis’ Uranium Club, and the early works of The Fall. The foursome is made up of members of Melbournian bands Slush, Gee Seas, Jungle Breed and U-Bahn and are defined by their frenetic energy, jerky guitar harmonies, mechanical riffs and sardonic vocals and lyrics. On the band’s debut full-length, Moving Parts, they come through with a more aggressive sound and biting commentary.
The opening track Ouch ! comes crashing in with a burst of urgency which hardly dissipates across the record. Immediately you’re struck by a voracious, wiry guitar solo before the record’s co-lead vocalists Adam Smith and Isabella Orsini share the reins for an energetic chanted duet.
The song Put Out displays the versatility of the English language, as the female members of the group emphatically declare: “Fuck you / Fuckboy / I don’t / Want to” in a cyclical chorus which masterfully harnesses the duality of the popular swear. The end of the track tackles male entitlement, as Isabella assures Mister F-boy: “It’s not a friend zone / it’s just me saying ‘no’”.
Similar, pertinent themes are addressed on the song Stranger Danger which catchalls the fears of violence and harassment faced by women while in public. The vocal performance from Isabella on this track is one of the most gripping on the record as she channels the anger of many women at the dismissive inaction of authorities.
The track Shibboleth sees the band take aim at asshole music scene gatekeepers. A dissonant opening is overtaken by a fierce instrumental conflagration with the sharp melodies from Jordan Oakley and Adam on guitar and Acacia Coates on bass, evocative of early Wire, well-complemented by a ballistic drum performance from Isabella and raucous vocal performance from Adam.
Stainless Steel is surprisingly self-explanatory. “It’s essential for modern living” the band reminds us, and they make a compelling case to back that claim up too. It’s certainly something to think about next time you need to purchase steel.
The track Ouch 2 ! closes the album with the same frenetic energy it opened with. It’s kicked off by a wholesome and hilarious recitation of a review of Mechanical Injury, but then shifts to the band introducing themselves as individuals and asking us to not see them as part of the machine. And that’s not hard, because while Pinch Points play like a well-oiled machine, with chemistry well beyond their short existence, what they have most of is personality, which overflows out of their music. It's reminiscent of the likes of geeky Devo-core angular post-punk bands such as Omni or the aforementioned Uranium Club.
At points Moving Parts revisits the themes from the debut Pinch Points EP, mentioned at the beginning of this review. Taken as a whole, however, this album feels more like a rallying cry for acceptance and unity. At the end of the day, we’re all just cogs – or moving parts, if you will – in the machine. What's great about Pinch Points is they can find the humanity in that.
- Jack Jones.