Pins & Panzers

Album Review

Some folks have an intense disdain for nostalgia; they believe that musicians should always be forging ahead and trying to innovate. But that attitude is both silly and unrealistic; not everyone can reinvent himself constantly like David Bowie or the late Miles Davis. Inevitably, some musicians will be smitten with the music of a previous era and want to celebrate that era. The truth is that there's nothing wrong with nostalgia as long as it is well done—and Plushgun founder/singer Dan Ingala serves up a thoroughly likable dose of 1980s nostalgia on Pins & Panzers. This early 2009 release isn't an exact replica of the 1980s; Ingala has 1990s and 2000s influences as well, including the Postal Service. But there is no overlooking the fact that Ingala's synthesizer-driven pop/rock has been greatly influenced by 1980s new wave and synth pop. The New York City resident clearly has a major soft spot for a time when the Talking Heads, the Pet Shop Boys, OMD, Berlin, and the Human League reigned supreme on MTV. Ingala no doubt appreciates the fact that a lot of 1980s music was relentlessly hooky and infectious, and infectiousness is exactly what he achieves on bouncy tracks like "Dancing in a Minefield" and "Union Pool." Ingala has a healthy sense of humor; his lyrics can be clever, although he doesn't pour on the irony to degree that Freezepop do (Freezepop, a delightfully quirky retro-'80s group from Boston, could be called "the Spinal Tap of synth pop"). And Ingala's lyrics are highly introspective, whereas Freezepop (who are very much a parody of the 1980s) thrive on flat-out goofiness. Humor, introspection, and vulnerability are all important parts of the picture on Pins & Panzers, which won't appeal to rigid anti-nostalgia zealots but is nonetheless a consistently enjoyable and well-crafted effort from Plushgun.