Pin Points and Gin Joints is the eighth studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. Since the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer Ben Carr have remained constant members...

, which was released on December 8, 2009. It is their first album of all new material in seven years, since the release of A Jackknife to a Swan

A Jackknife to a Swan

A Jackknife to a Swan is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on July 9, 2002 by SideOneDummy Records. This album marked the return of the Bosstones to an indie label, and was the last album released by the group before their four-year hiatus between 2003 and 2007...

in 2002, the longest gap between albums in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' career. Pin Points and Gin Joints was produced by Ted Hutt

Ted Hutt

Ted Hutt is a British music producer, musician, and song writer residing in Los Angeles, CA. He was the original guitar player and one of the founding members for Flogging Molly...

, famous for working with other bands such as The Bouncing Souls

The Bouncing Souls

The Bouncing Souls are a punk rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 1987. By the time of their acknowledgment by the national punk rock scene, they had reignited a "pogo" element to New Jersey punk rock by playing fast light-hearted songs, a model followed by various other local...

, Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...

, and The Gaslight Anthem

The Gaslight Anthem

The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, consisting of Brian Fallon , Alex Rosamilia , Alex Levine and Benny Horowitz...

. Recording and writing sessions for the album lasted from November 2008 to July 2009, making it the longest time The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have ever spent recording an album.

Background

Joe Gittleman

Joe Gittleman

Joe Gittleman is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones...

described the band's approach to the album in an interview: "We really want to make a fun, upbeat record with a lot of cool ska stuff. Songs I look forward to playing at shows." Dicky Barrett added that the songs reflect his "skewed and slightly distorted look at our world and life in general."

The Bosstones announced that they were working on an album on November 4, 2008, via a MySpace blog with two songs, "The Impossible Dream" and "Next to Nothing" streaming on the page. The band announced the completion of tracking on July 29. On October 16, 2009, the band announced the album's title along with a free download of one the songs titled "Graffiti Worth Reading".

Track listing

1. "Graffiti Worth Reading" (2:43)
2. "Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah" (2:21)
3. "The Route That I Took" (3:03)
4. "You Left Right?" (3:42)
5. "Too Many Stars" (2:25)
6. "Your Life" (3:36)
7. "I Wrote It" (3:37)
8. "Not to Me on That Night" (3:18)
9. "Wasted Summers" (3:18)
10. "Sister Mary" (3:31)
11. "It Will Be" (3:22)
12. "The Death Valley Vipers" (4:15)
13. "The Bricklayer's Story" (2:50)
14. "A Pretty Sad Excuse" (6:22)[Early working title was "Disappointment/Back There (Someone Understands)"]
15. "Feeling Today" (Exclusive Vinyl Track)

Unreleased

The following are songs written/recorded during sessions for Pin Points and Gin Joints but did not end up on the album.

• "Golf Dads Deacon, Charlie and Chester"
• "Sometimes You Can't Say Goodbye"
• "I Should Have Said Something"
• "Just a Delicate Disaster"
• "I Haven't Had a Drop"
• "Make No Mistake"
• "It's New to Me"
• "The Drone" (Later released as a B-side to "2,000 Miles")