Tom Lynch

Pinebender has gone through some lineup changes in recent times--Matt Clark left the band in 2002 and the remaining members shifted: Stephen Howard from drums to the "baritone" guitar and new member Dennis Stacer to drums. That left Chris Hansen as the only original member of the band doing his original job--singing and guitar-playing. "Working Nine to Wolf," the band's second album with Lovitt Records, continues the group's slow dive into impenetrable walls of sound--guitar-driven, slow-building songs spread thick across the landscape, jarring, aggressive and psyched-out. Opener "Parade of Horribles" clocks in at fourteen minutes--that'll give you a sense of what the record is like--but its rhythmic melody matched with the spastic, uncontrolled guitar soloing makes it one of the best songs this band's put to tape. Live, the three-piece is always powerful, thoroughly unforgettable and very, very loud. Bring earplugs.

Pinebender plays January 2 at Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773)276-3600, at 10pm. $8. (2007-01-30)

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