Pennywise – Reason To Believe
Flashback: 1995, I found Pennywise’s “About Time” in a bargain bin for $5. It became one of my favorite albums and they became one of my favorite bands. Very similar to Bad Religion, but I like BR. I enjoyed the next albums that followed, but the last few albums they released in the 2000s were very uneventful, and I can’t even remember a lot of the songs from those albums.
Flash forward: 2008, Pennywise releases “Reason To Believe.” They seem to recapture some of the magic that they had on those earlier albums. Lots of powerful songs, like “One Reason,” “Something To Live For,” “All We Need” and “The Western World.” There is even one song (“Affliction”) that sounds so much like Bad Religion you would think it was a cover song! But it is still a good song and easy to listen to.
If you are a fan of their older stuff, you’ll enjoy this. It may not be as good as “About Time” or “Unknown Road,” or even “Full Circle,” but it is a lot better than their last three studio albums and it is really good from start to finish.
Loading...
I think deep down inside we knew this wouldn’t touch previous classics such as Unknown Road and Full Circle, but it does sound like a reinvigorated Pennywise, whose more recent albums have solely lacked the intensity and the self respective lyrical approach Pennywise albums are generally known for. Great effort though and giving away the album for free has certainly paid them in dividends (check out their concert sales)
sickr - May 9, 2008 at 2:07 pm