“Pinto Vs. Pinto” dates back to pandemic lockdown, when Okay Lindon’s Dustin Smith and a group of friends challenged each other to write songs based on random prompts pulled from a 1978 The Book Of Lists.
“Our friend mailed us each a torn page, and we had to write something from whatever we got,” says Smith. “The one I got had this two- or three-sentence anecdote about a wrestling heel named Stanley Pinto who got tangled in the ropes entering the ring and was counted out before the match even started.”
Ultimately, though, “Pinto Vs. Pinto” is no joke.
“I kind of saw an angle where maybe we could have a little sympathy for this guy, so I painted him as a tragic character instead of a punchline,” says Smith. “We shot the video in a boxing gym because that’s about as close as we could get—and we had to make it work. That’s kind of been the story of this band over the years.”
Equal parts hazy shoegaze and melodic Midwestern guitar rock, “Pinto Vs. Pinto” is the latest single from Okay Lindon (Lost In Ohio), the quietly resurgent (mostly) Ohio-based band’s self-titled fourth album. Tracked live in guitarist Chuck Smith’s basement, it’s the first to feature the complete five-piece lineup since 2012’s Everything Will Work Out Fine.
“With 15 years apart and many miles between us, we built the idea of this reunion record around the goal of recording one song to completion once a month,” says Smith. “To keep up with that pace, I’d find myself scavenging old scraps and demos to upcycle, instead of starting from scratch.”
And that’s how “Pinto Vs. Pinto” resurfaced. “We’ve always gravitated toward music that feels a little tired, introspective and unresolved,” says Smith. “I think ‘Pinto’ is kind of a shoegaze song, but it’s more melodically driven, and there’s a familiar structure underneath it instead of just atmosphere.”
We’re proud to premier the video for Okay Lindon’s “Pinto Vs. Pinto.” Okay Lindon is out July 24 on limited-edition vinyl.
—Hobart Rowland
