The new album from Scottish group Pinact is called The Part That No One Knows and it's out tomorrow on Kanine Records. It is a fine slab of modest-yet-furious alt-rock full of the sort of youthful energy that makes music like this so easy to enjoy.
After a fake-out with the lovely title tune, the album proper kicks in with the Nirvana and Pixies-referencing "Bring You Down", all crystal-clear Nineties riffs that practically burst out of the speakers. If that one seems to ride by on some obvious points of inspiration, the better "Seams" surges like mid-period Superchunk, or even Green Day. At their best, Pinact make this sort of material seem fresh, even if numbers like "Regrettable Thrill" and the radio-friendly "Separate Ways" seem a touch too familiar. Still, for that minor bit of criticism, it's also worth noting that this stuff flies by with a lot of contagious energy around it so that a listener sort of forgives these guys for treading such well-trod paths again. If "Bughouse" recalls Brit power-poppers Silver Sun in a favorable way, the more expansive "Forever" and "Against The World" seem more original and fresh, even if they're not as obviously upbeat and instantly infectious.
The Part That No One Knows is largely a bunch of pop-punk slammers that quickly please the senses without a lot of pretension attached to them. I dig that. I really do appreciate that. So don't mistake my nitpicking at how familiar parts of this seem as a rejection of what Pinacat are offering. On the contrary, I miss music like this being so easy to find. Pinact have mastered a few key styles quite well and they are extraordinarily adept at turning those influences into something reasonably fresh and energetic.
The Part That No One Knows is out tomorrow on Kanine Records. Follow Pinact on the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited Facebook picture]