I can’t say Sharp Pins are exactly bumpin’ out of car radios or blaring from boomboxes in the park. Still, I wouldn’t say WXYC in Chapel Hill wasn’t on a mission to make that happen when their DJs locked onto “Bye Bye Basil” from this Chicago entity’s 2023 debut, Turtle Rock. Precious and shambling, the song’s lo-fi principles and ‘60s Mod/Brit expressiveness got at least one person to drop the “Guided By Voices” comparison. Then, it seemed, everyone else who heard the band latched onto that too.
Look, I dig a certain era of GBV as much as anyone, but having that become the default line to describe Sharp Pins just feels lazy. Beyond the treble-n-hiss/4-track Tascam-esque fidelity, some flickers of flowery psych, and a love of big guitar blasts, Sharp Pins don’t sound much like Guided By Voices. The Sharp Pins are all bright and sparkly even on their sad songs. GBV even at their most scrubbed up always had a cragginess to it. Is it just because the vocals occasionally slip into a “British accent”? That's been a thing bands not from England have been doing since 1965.
The comparison wore on me to the point where I wouldn’t say I avoided checking out their latest album, Radio DDR, for a little while but it got me wondering: what if they are the next GBV? How long until they make a prog(ish) record people claim to love but never actually listened to it more than once?
Well, I’ve found no signs of basement nods to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway on the record.
While I’ve really liked the new record, it was seeing them live that didn’t just win me over, it completely floored me. I caught their set opening for the Hard Quartet at Cat’s Cradle back in March. I expected to dig them, but I wasn’t prepared for what they were like live. It was bright and bashful. The songs, anthemic and fragile. Loud guitar pop in its most perfect form.
My first impression right after they played.
After their set, I told a friend with complete sincerity “I had to wipe away a tear or two. It was beautiful.”
I don’t think I’ve gone a day since where I haven't listened to at least one Sharp Pins song.
This was my first time taking the Yashica TL Electro out for some night shooting. Introduced in 1972, it’s the barebones model of the series. The battery only powers the light meter. Everything else is fully mechanical, including the shutter. Based on the serial number, this one was built in ’73. It needed a bit of cleaning and a test roll to run through it before. It's in great shape. A lot of fun to shoot too.
It uses the M42 lens mount, which means there’s a ton of great glass out there, often at really reasonable to downright cheap prices. I went with a classic: the 50mm Super Takumar f/1.4.
I just kind of weaved through the crowd up front, tried to find a few sweet spots with the lights and fired off some frames whenever I had a clear shot. No backs of heads in the way, etc.
These were shot on Fomapan 400, a film I’ve written about and shown here a few times before. It is one of my go-to black and white stocks. It’s cheap, cheerful and I like the “grit” the grain has (especially when pushed a stop like it is in these pics.)
Kai Slater, the sharpest pin, is also in Lifeguard. Lifeguard are playing at Kings in Raleigh on this Sunday, July 13th. The Obliques are on the bill too. Go!