This review is part of a series looking back at significant albums on their anniversaries. Through the benefit of hindsight we will be viewing the album not just as it was released, but how it stands the test of time, as well as its place in the band’s discography and the genre in general.
Epitaph – 22 Oct 1991
A solid first effort that led to much better work
The first Pennywise album – released thirty years ago – hasn’t aged particularly well. It still gets a lot of nostalgia credit, and it was the first Pennywise album I listened to so I have something of a soft spot for it, but this is really not a ton more than a good first album. After releasing two EPs and making something of a name for themselves in the Southern California punk scene, Pennywise signed to Epitaph (not yet the indie powerhouse they would soon become, but a huge step up nonetheless) and got to work on their first full length album. This also included vocalist Jim Lindberg rejoining the band after briefly quitting. That was just the first of something like a million times that Jim left and rejoined the band.
The most remarkable aspect of the debut Pennywise album is how clearly defined their sound is – of course they pretty much never deviate from it for the rest of their career, but it’s still set up quite well. Surely influenced by Bad Religion Jim almost never screams or shouts. He’s actually a very good singer with a serious talent for writing hooks – and the band’s pre-Epitaph cover of “Stand By Me” is a lot of fun. It’s always bothered me that few Pennywise songs have given Jim a real chance to show off his chops. It’s with that in mind I have cautious optimism for his recently announced solo album, but time will tell. Guitarist Fletcher Dragge has an extremely unique guitar tone (as far as this kind of punk in the early 90’s gets) – it’s almost metal. It’s a guitar tone that makes sure you can pretty much always identify a song as being by Pennywise within the first couple seconds.
The combination of extremely high energy songs that have really catchy vocal hooks and a real easily identifiable sonic texture almost makes for a guaranteed winning recipe. The band also has an almost Fucked Up level obsession with placing itself within the broader continuum of punk culture. The band has an easy to recognize / easy to spray paint or tattoo logo (which ends up on the cover of almost every album). So many of the lyrics are either about positive attitudes and self motivation – a direct reference to Bad Brains and Gorilla Biscuits – or they’re focused on these sort of surface level political statements. But all of it worked out in the band’s favor – Pennywise was a minor hit in the punk community, and moved the band on their way to bigger shows, tours, and albums.
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is the standout track on the album – there’s a reason it comes first and there’s a reason that the band continues to play it live. The rest of the album doesn’t go downhill exactly, but it’s a lot of the same kind of musical idea played out over and over again, which is really the problem that Pennywise ran into across their discography. Weirdly, I think Jason Thirsk is the best part of early Pennywise, but Straight Ahead, From the Ashes, and Land of the Free? – all released after his death – have far more varied songwriting than the first four albums with the original lineup, and they’re albums that I tend to revisit more than anything else in their discography. “Living For Today” and “No Reason Why” are great tracks as well, but when I listen through this full album they have a hard time popping out when they come in the midst of so many same-y songs. The title track, “Pennywise” deserves a mention just for being extremely goofy and out of character for a band that is pretty much never funny. Of course “Bro Hymn” became their constant show closer – especially in the wake of Jason’s death, to whom they always dedicate the song. It’s a good song that I think is probably even better at an actual Pennywise show.
All in all, the first Pennywise album is solid but nothing worth going too crazy over. I suspect that anyone who heard the album when it came out or was seeing Pennywise play in the early 90’s has a really different answer about this, but for me the best Pennywise albums are Straight Ahead, About Time, and From the Ashes. As I’ve mentioned before, Pennywise (perhaps like some other early 90’s punk bands…) can get extremely formulaic and have a really hard time differentiating songs and albums from each other. Pennywise fits into the larger discography in the same way that a lot of bands first album does: It’s a solid effort with a few good songs, but the band really hadn’t hid their stride just yet.
Musician and writer – I play in Cheap City and run Dollhouse Lightning
