Pennywise
Pennywise have 20 years under their belt and to date have released eight full-length studio albums, one live album, two EPs and one DVD. This latest release will be their ninth since their self titled debut album out on Epitaph Records in 1991. Epitaph will release this album in Europe and MySpace records will handle distribution in America. With so many releases under their belt many people ask the question, “How long can they carry on making good records?” With fans of old Pennywise material disappointed with the bands recent releases I doubt whether this album will cheer them up too much. However I do feel this album sees a change for the good. When you think of Pennywise you think of raw, fast and aggressive punk. This album may give people a reason to believe different.
They have written modern anthems about religion and society, and managed to make the album catchy throughout, however in my opinion many of the songs on this album sound similar with no real changes in timing or dynamic. This can make it monotonous in places. There are however points in the album where Pennywise have tried something different. They slow down the tempo and try new things which you have to admit is impressive for a band who have survived this long on an old formula.
“Reason To Believe” is certainly more pop punk than other Pennywise records and some may say that the lyrics on this album are less aggressive, or less confrontational than previous releases. Whether this is a conscious change by the band or a change in the subjects they write about the lyrics do seem to have less depth and emotion about their chosen subjects.
Pennywise have teamed up with MySpace to release this album in America and it was a surprise when they announced they were offering the album on the internet for free. Many people will ask the question why? Maybe it is a sign of an uncertain band, maybe it is a sign of a band reaching out to a new audience. The fact is this album sees a change in Pennywise. The production is cleaner and in my opinion represents this new ‘cleaner’ Pennywise.
If you’re a fan of old Pennywise you may find this record disturbing, however you may find it refreshing. If you’re a new fan of Pennywise I’m pretty sure you will enjoy it. Whoever you are, I suggest you take a listen and judge for yourself as you can log on to www.myspace.com/pennywise and get yourself a copy for free.