The Californians of Pennywise may by now be regarded as punk rock veterans. The band was founded in 1988 and is releasing its seventh full-length album with Land Of The Free. It is striking that the musical style has changed little or nothing over the years. Pennywise may have its own sound, but in terms of music it fits seamlessly into the new punk rock as it has been played since the early 90s.
The songs have a lot of speed, are hyper-melodic and the lyrics contain many socially critical elements. That's how Pennywise did it 13 years ago and in fact they still do it today. Land Of The Free is therefore a typical Pennywise album. What is striking is the heavy production of Joe Barresi (known from stoner rock bands like Kyuss and Fu Manchu) that gives the songs the necessary extra power. Also nice is the cooperation of Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz with whom one of the best songs (Who's On Your Side) on the record was written. In addition, The World, F ** K Authority and My God are strong songs. Pennywise hasn't changed a bit but still knows how to fascinate. (RWK)more
