It's always nice to have some sort of anchor in this turbulent, ever-changing world; something you can rely on. Pennywise have made a career out of being reliable, and are currently in the process of getting away with releasing the same album for the eighth time.
Always
just abrasive enough not to be considered a straight up Bad Religion tribute band, the Californian quartet have been playing the skate punk game for an amazing seventeen years and
The Fuse is as professionally rendered as you would expect of a band of such longevity.
Pennywise are an angry band. They always have been, and it seems unlikely that this mood will change during the tenure of latest nemesis Bush junior and his neoconservative artistocracy;
Fox TV is peppered with fair but predictable invective against the Republicans' proxy mouthpiece, and
Take A Look Around and
Stand Up pretty much do exactly what they say on the tin.
Existing Pennywise fans will find themselves singing along to
The Kids almost on their first listen, so familiar is this undoubtedly catchy song; chock-full of characteristic 'hee-eeys' delivered in Jim Lindberg's laconic, raspy style, it seems inconceivable that at one point late bassist Jason Thirsk was nearly forced to take over singing duties when Lindberg went on a brief hiatus.
But for all that Pennywise are more constant than gravity,
The Fuse is not a bad album because what they keep on doing, they do very well, and it's good; passionate, energetic, melodic and rousing. It's just that it contains about as many surprises as a bowl of mashed potato.
The Fuse is out now on Epitaph.
www.pennywisdom.com www.epitaph.com
