Don't Get Too Attached To Pending Disappointment

Obviously the name Pending Disappointment should be your first hint. But the track we discuss today, "I'll Leave You Behind," is a more explicit warning: self-deprecating, feels-good-feelin'-bad indie rock ahead. But we've jumped ahead of ourselves... The bands surrounding Boston/New York rock concern Midriff Records, including flagship act The Beatings, share common members, but the label's "sound" is less specific than you might imagine. While The Beatings channel Burma-esque postpunk, and side project E.R. proffers a folksier bent, Midriff's latest release -- Pending Disappointment's New York Penn, NY -- takes cues from '90s favorites including Archers of Loaf and Quicksand.

It is this latter influence that features prominently in the track "I'll Leave You Behind," which is a little similar to Quicksand's phenomenal rocker "Too Official" from the 1993 masterpiece Slip. Boston-based trio Pending Disappointment has curiously banished "I'll Leave You Behind" -- an MP3 of which is posted below -- to the far end of the new record (two songs proximal to the amazingly titled album closer "FFF=666", which of course nods to Jawbox's amazing For Your Own Special Sweetheart) despite the fact that it rocks most steadfastly. Punctuated with harmonics and burbling bass playing in the verse, the track would have made a nice closer or a pointed album opener. Stuttering dynamics in the bridge drive toward an ascending melody and deflating denouement. For optimum enjoyment this track should be blasted loudly. New York Penn, NY will be released Thursday. Pending Disappointment's debut Off The Starboard Bow was released by Midriff in 2005.

Pending Disappointment -- "I'll Leave You Behind" -- New York Penn, NY
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[buy New York Penn, NY from Midriff right here]

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Previous Midriff coverage:
That Was The Show That Was: The Beatings | TT The Bear's
That Was The Show That Was: E.R. | TT The Bear's
That Was The Show That Was: E.R., The Mitchells | PA's Lounge
Review: E.R. | This Conspiracy Against Us
!Exclusive! The Beatings MP3