Regardless of how Brits referred to ‘em Roy Montgomery (guitar), Ross Humphrey (bass), and Peter Stapleton (drums) comprised the Pin Group, which formed during the early ‘80s and only lasted till around ’84. In that time, though, the band was able to record a clutch of songs that would seemingly inform the kiwi acts that followed on Flying Nun Records in the coming years.
Releasing its debut single, "Ambivalence" b/w “Columbia,” in 1981 the Pin Group counted the disc as the initial album issued on Flying Nun. The two tracks are unendingly scant on full production styles coming in as only the most simple trio workout from the year. There’s been a lot made of the influence of Joy Division on not just the band’s music, but on Montgomery’s singing. That’s not unwarranted, but the darkness inherent in the Pin Group’s sound comes as much from stripped down punk as anywhere else.
Apparently, the trio that made up the Pin Group didn’t press too many discs when they were actually releasing music. So the fact that any of this stuff made it through twenty plus years is just short of miraculous.
Retrospective, released via Siltbreeze a few years back, pulls together that first single as well as the group’s second clutch of sides – “Coat” b/w “Jim.” No less sparse, these two tracks maintain a tie to punk while adding in a bit more melodic flair. There’s a let up of despair in “Coat” as Montgomery gets through the chorus. Revisiting the same track a decade later, and included here as well, the band oddly enough sounds more ‘80s-styled than on the original.
Elsewhere – as Retrospective’s production qualities improve a bit – some of the sullen depravity being related on other tracks takes a break as the Pin Group wrenches out a gothy “Low Rider.” The song certainly won’t make folks feel like tooling around in a car, but it does two things differently. Firstly, the wah-wah guitar, while appropriate but still surprising, points to a growth in the band musically that might not have been too evident on other tracks. Secondly, breaking up the pervasive bummers that other tracks levy on listeners, this track’s wink at fans should have brought smiles to despondent faces. That doesn’t mean the song is an album highlight, just an interesting way to look into the band and how they approached music.
So this isn’t straight punk, but neither is the Clean, or whoever else from down under one would care to cite. But the music here is such a clear descendent of that tougher stuff that as a fan of the genre, the Pin Group needs to be considered a peer of Television Personalities and the like. It’s true. Consume.