Underslept

If you ever need evidence to combat the slacker Southern California stereotype, look no further than the few folks that make up the lion's share of San Diego's impressively diverse and highly successful music scene. Collectively Rob Crow, Pall Jenkins, Armistead and Burwell Smith IV maintain a minimum of ten (count 'em) projects simultaneously. More impressive is the overall quality and longevity of most of these projects.

Systems Officer is the solo guise of Armistead Burwell Smith IV, the prolific multi-instrumentalist songwriter and founding member of Pinback and Three Mile Pilot. Written and recorded between breaks in the rigorous Pinback recording and touring schedule, Underslept is five years in the making, a concise collection of thoughtful, complex pop songs. Written, produced and performed by Smith in his home studio, Underslept features the same kind of intricate arrangements and layered vocal harmonies that have become a trademark of Pinback, with nods to the dramatic tone that marks the best of Three Mile Pilot Songs.

Underslept gives Smith - already one of rocks' most innovative and influential bass players - the opportunity to place his often understated gifts as a singer and songwriter front and center, drawing influence from The Police, Peter Gabriel-era Gensis and The Beach Boys to craft thoughtful, progressive pop with spiky hooks and impressively high replay value.