Zach Smith (or Armistead Burwell Smith IV, if you're not into the whole brevity thing) makes his solo debut separate from his Pinback collaborator, Rob Crow, and supplies the vocals as well as plays all the instruments on his self-titled EP Systems Officer. The musical style is easy to recognize for Pinback fans familiar with the band's swift change of beat and energetic bass lines, one of the main distinctions is the absence of Crow's voice. Smith uses the Systems Officer project to deliver a unique manifesto of lyrics and ties it together with his own subdued and occasionally searing vocal harmonies.

The Album
A five-song EP
As melancholy as dust
On a vibrator

Angry yet subdued
Like the war cry of Vikings
Muted by Valium

Complex but pleasant
It's a snoring elephant
In history class

The Songs:
"Forever This Cyanide"
Mellow guitar riffs
A pillow-fight of vocals
In chain-mail armor

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"Systems Officer"
Upbeat, not beat-up
Like bees driving bumper cars
Smoking cigarettes

"Signature Red"
Thoughtful canaries
Drinking wine in a basement
Repeating themselves

"Desert/Sea"
Burn down the office With synthesizer matches
The sound of Police

"Hael"
Piano keys play
And throw Elton John's glasses
Into a puddle

The Music:
Systems Officer
Not quite emo, not quite pop
Music to nap with

It's like getting laid
And winning the lottery
On opposite days