Pennywise
has been around a long time and considering their catalogue
of cds, From the Ashes isn't the best they have put out. Pennywise
seem to have calmed down a little and gotten more melodic
and less fist pounding angry.
This
album is definitely no Land of the Free or Full Circle. It's
a trade-off, a little less aggression and heavy guitar riffs
for more politically charged lyrics and a greater appeal factor.
Taking shots against the Bush Administration and the apathetic
Americas mentality, its good to see some band pushing punk
away from MTV's reappointed definition that includes the likes
of Good Charlotte. The strong points of From the Ashes is
the drumming and more complex strong structure, the weak point
is the pop-influenced guitar hooks, refrains and some of the
vocals in general. Jim Lindberg sounds bored and flat on a
lot of the tracks.
Overall,
it's a pretty good album compared to the rest of this years
punk releases, although it is not old-school Pennywise its
worth a listen to.
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