Needles//Pins: S/T 12″

Description

Maybe its the endless pieces of soft, soothing music being described as a soothing balm for the stresses of the pandemic age, but dont you sometimes find yourself wishing for a solid rocknroll record to cut to your core and send your fists soaring towards the sky? Okay, our moshpits may not extend much further than the faces in our living rooms right now, but goddamit, some of us really just want some punk rock to help us feel alive.
Heres where Needles//Pins mighty fourth album comes in. From the surging rush of opener Woe Is Us (sounds relatable), via the organ-drenched scuffle of Winnipeg 03 right through to anthemic closer The Tyranny Of Comforts, this is a record that takes your emotional concerns and bundles them up into sweet little packets of raw-throated, chest-swelling, moves-into-your-brain-and-never-leaves melody.
Theyre self-aware too; by referencingCapn Jazzs Little Leagues in the opening verse to A Rather Strained Apologetic, they lay bare that in a less complicated era you might have been tempted to call their take on punk emo. Hey, come back – OK, its not aJade Treespecial, but its got the same gravel throated delivery and honeyed approach to melody thatBlake Schwarzenbachdelivered on 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. Needles//Pins are equally indebted to classic Canadian powerpop like The Pointed Sticks- hell, 1979s essential Vancouver Complication comp feels as much of a reference here as Boxcar. They know their history, they know their craft, and they know their shit. If youve not been keeping count, this all adds up to plenty to love.
Of course, you could just ignore everything I just wrote and listen for yourself. What youll find is a record that sounds simple on first listen but offers more layers to peel back the more you listen. Its comforting, its thrilling, its well, its not a soothing balm, but it might just be what you need right now to pick you up off the floor and (as referenced on the aforementioned Woe Is Us) make you shake and shimmer. A future classic? Hell, why not?- Will Fitzpatrick