In the bottomless pit, an angel

Sunny harmonies with a pensive undercurrent of dark emotional shading usually account for a winning formula in pop record-making. Ergo, Pinback, a San Diego-based duo, originally formed in 1998 as a side project by Rob Crow (Thingy and Heavy Vegetable) and Armistead Burwell Smith IV (3 Mile Pilot), but it has developed into something that sounds like a Dutch version of Pavement attacking the Steve Miller Band catalog (or is it a Danish Steve Miller remaking Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain?). At any rate, Pinback—which recently saw its newest and quite swell record, Summer in Abaddon, released by Touch and Go—is playing Harlow’s, at 2706 J Street, on Sunday, November 28, with the Album Leaf and the Advantage. The 21-and-over show starts at 8 p.m.; tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 the day of the show.